


Misshapen Sparks

by Mijali



Category: RWBY
Genre: AU, Gen, Yang Xiao Long Needs a Hug, bandit yang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-01-30 20:04:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21433939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mijali/pseuds/Mijali
Summary: Yang Branwen has spent her entire life living on the outskirts of society, fending for herself and her tribe in the wilderness of Mistral. But when a trio of unexpected visitors stop by, it throws her entire life into disarray.
Relationships: Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 30
Kudos: 229





	1. Chapter 1

Qrow was sitting at the table across from Raven as Yang sat to her side, feet swinging as they dangled off the edge of her chair, holding a mug that was a little too big for her in both hands as she tried to take a sip without spilling it all over herself.    
  
“Don’t you think you should help her with that?”    
  
“She’ll learn one way or another.”    
  
Yang had a focused look on her face, and managed to drink without spilling the cocoa he had gotten her at the tavern the three were sitting at.    
  
She had never had it before, and her eyes lit up, slowly changing to the brightest shade of purple he had ever seen, “It’s so good!”    
  
Qrow couldn’t help but smile at that, at how she kicked her feet a bit more in excitement, but he also noticed how she clutched the cup close to herself, as if afraid that someone would take it; noticed that she didn’t even show her mother, her body language saying ‘This is mine! Mine!’ and while he knew that Raven would never deny Yang food this young, he could tell that anything that wasn’t a necessity was fair game for anyone to take, and that Yang was just too small to stop it. 

‘She’ll learn’, indeed. 

“Yang, why don’t you take that and go play outside while the grownups talk.”    
  
It wasn’t a question, and Yang gave a little sigh as she scootched towards the edge of her chair, trying to get her feet to hit touch the floor. “I wanna talk to Qrow some more…”    
  
“Qrow is too busy for a brat like you. Go play outside.”   
  
“I’m not.” Raven glared at her brother, and he shrugged, ignoring it while giving a smile to Yang. “I’m not too busy for ya, kid. Sit back down, we can hang out once your mom and I are done talking. I’ll buy you a snack later if you’re real good.”    
  
“We don’t have time to--”    
  
“You’re not going to make a liar out of me, are you? I promised the kid a snack.” 

Raven rubbed her eyes, as if the thought of dragging the conversation out any longer caused her physical pain, and sighed. “Fine. If you stay quiet and still, you can go play with Qrow after.”    
  
Yang sat up perfectly straight and nodded, a sharp, determined look on her little face, and Qrow felt a sense of warmth spread through him.    
  
His niece.    
  
He loved her so much.    
  
  
___   
  
  


Yang was fifteen, and she was cold, her eyes a permanent shade of red that bore holes through his whenever they met. His were pale, an imitation of red compared to hers, which were a color so true that he couldn’t hold her gaze for more than a few seconds.   
  
She was tall, and she was strong, her arms rippling with barely contained strength as they tightened around her glass, a whiskey that Raven had ordered for herself then gave to Yang.    
  
He was afraid she would shatter it, with how tightly she was holding it, but instead she picked it up, swirling the ice and liquid before downing it in one shot, eyes never leaving his. 

“Qrow. It’s good to see you again.”    
  
“It has been a while, hasn’t it?”    
  
“You could come to visit anytime, you know. The tribe would love to see their prodigal son return.” Her tone was mocking, and Yang scoffed under her breath, putting the glass down with a soft thud, the ice clattering around before settling.    
  
“Yeah,  _ that’s _ what the tribe would love. Not his head on a pike.”    
  
Qrow stiffened, suddenly acutely aware of the bright red gauntlets that covered her wrists, the shell casings in the magazine gleaming brightly in the dim light.    
“There’s no hard feelings, Qrow,” Raven quickly added, her smile all teeth, “it’s not like you abandoned your family.”    
  
“I changed, Raven. There’s no shame in that. People go in different directions sometimes.” ‘Please understand, Yang,’ he was saying with his eyes, with his posture as he risked a glance at her, ‘please understand that you can leave. You can be someone different.’ 

“Not against family, they don’t.” Yang’s voice was cold, and her eyes somehow became darker, more vibrant, the color of fresh blood, and he knew he wouldn’t win this, not this time, not right now, but he had to try to explain himself, had to try to get through to her, one last attempt before she fell so far that she couldn’t be saved.   
  
“Sometimes, people outgrow their families. They change as people and that’s okay, Yang, it’s okay to move on.”    
  
“Don’t talk down to me like I’m a child!” Another flare, and now her eyes were wine red, her mother’s eyes, as if a younger Raven were staring back at him, glaring, yelling after him as he left, cursing his name, “I’m not! I’m not a kid anymore! I’ve killed, I’m officially an adult!”    
  
Qrow felt sick, his heart sinking to his stomach, his intestines twisting into knots; he had taken his first life before that, a lowlife bandit from a rival tribe who got too big for his own good, who made moves against his sister, who’d raised his sword first.   
  
“Tell him the story, Yang.” Raven’s voice was full of pride, soft and kind and Yang was visibly preening, the anger gone, and replaced with pride.   
  
“It was me and him, in this clearing a bit outside the camp. He thought he could fuck with my men-- ah,  _ our--”  _   
  
“No, you’re right, Yang. One day, the tribe will be yours. They’re your men.”    


“Right.  _ My _ men. Got into a fight with one of them the night before in a bar and came back looking for more. My guy was pretty rough -the asshole had jumped him outside with a group of buddies, but he still took enough of a beating that he thought he should finish the job- and since Jace couldn’t fight back, I took it in my own hands to put him down.”    
  
Yang shook her glass for a refill at the waitress as she passed, and after a glare from Raven, the woman left, taking the empty one with her. “He had a gun, of course. A pistol. Two knives strapped to his chest, and he thought he could take me. Pointed the gun right at my face and pulled the trigger, but it didn’t even get through my aura. That scared him real good, didn’t know he was dealing with someone trained. Three hits later and he was on the floor, begging for mercy.”    
  
“But did you give it to him?” Raven was grinning, smirking, she knew this was killing Qrow, she knew it, and that’s why she was making Yang tell this story, making him listen to it.    
  
Yang’s eyes flickered briefly, just enough that Qrow could tell in the dim candle light of the back corner they were sitting in, just enough that he hoped she hadn’t wanted to.    
  
“No. I ended it. I ended  _ him _ . That bastard won’t be fucking with my family again.”    
  
“And how did you do it, Yang? Tell your uncle. I’m sure he’d love to hear; after all, it’s a Branwen family tradition to celebrate a member’s first kill.”    
  
“I…” Yang took a breath, her eyes glowing brighter as she resolved to tell the story, “I beat him to death with my bare hands. No gauntlets. No weapons. Just my fists against his face, over and over and over until he stopped.”   
  
When she smiled, it was Raven’s smile, and Qrow knew he had to leave, knew that if he stayed there any longer, he wouldn’t be able to maintain his composure, what little he was holding onto.

Knew he wouldn’t be able to keep from sobbing.   
  
He stood, tossing a bunch of lien on the table, more than needed to cover the bill, way more, and smiled at Yang, “You did good, kiddo,” he prayed they couldn’t tell how hard he was working to keep his voice from trembling, “you did good. Take the leftover from that to celebrate.”    
  
He left before Yang could read through his mask, Raven’s smug look telling him that she knew there was no way he could get her back now.    
  
Yang was a Branwen.    
  
  
___   
  


Yang had been fifteen when she took her first life. 

The guy was all bravado as he stood in the clearing outside the camp, and held a pistol in her face.

He hadn’t been expecting her, a child, to be the one to face him, though, and he said,”What the fuck is this?”   
  
“You wanted a fight? Here I am.”    
  
“I wanted a fight with the fucker who busted my face in, not a little girl! Where is he?”    
  
Yang’s eyes were a dusky pink, deceptively soft in the midday sun.    
  
“I’ll be the one you’re facing today. You can run or you can fight, it makes no difference to me.” 

Yang went to stretch and the man reacted. The bullet disintegrated against her aura. 

Yang saw red, darted forward, one, two, her gauntlets were down and the man was on his knees, a kick to his chin sent him backwards, and she stood over him, foot on his chest as blood ran down his face, pooling and soaking into the soil, the grass, his hair.    
  
“You came here intending to kill my men.” Yang was speaking, but it felt strange, like it was her but not her, like she was a half step removed from herself. “Now you’re going to find out why that was a bad idea.”    
  
“I won’t come back, I promise, I’ll leave and never cause trouble for you again, I swear it!” His words sounded garbled, but Yang either didn’t seem to notice or care about the missing teeth, about how his jaw was angled, and she retracted her gauntlets and struck, his flesh splitting against her fist, bone connecting with her knuckles as he sobbed, ugly and labored thanks to his broken nose.    
  
She struck again, and again, and again, until finally she was holding his shirt in one hand, pulling him forward so she could strike him, felt a crack from somewhere in him, but she still didn’t stop, not yet, not yet, not while he’s still there, still on the ground like the pathetic sack of shit he was, so she struck again and again, until someone pulled her off, and she swung at them, too, but missed.

Laughter. 

“What’s so funny?” Yang’s vision was clearing, the red haze that had been coloring everything slowly dissipating.

“It took you longer than I’d have liked, but you finally did it.” Raven’s voice was recognizable to her now, and she calmed a bit, relaxing her stance.   
  
“What?”    
  
Her hands hurt. She looked at them, but couldn’t see her skin under all the blood. 

“The man? You killed him. Very good job, by the way, though we need to work on your awareness. It’s the first time you’ve ever had to use your semblance like that, so we’ll have to train a bit more.” Yang looked back at the man, hardly recognizable through the blood, “ You did good, Yang. You made the tribe proud. You made me proud.”   


___   
  
  


Ruby was eighteen when she learnt she had a sister. Tai had wanted to wait until she was an adult before he told her, and she tried to not show that she was a bit resentful of that fact. After everything she had been through, after everything she had to do for herself after her mother passed, everything she did as the leader of her team, the top team in Beacon despite being short a person, she felt she was more of an adult than people gave her credit for. 

“It’s fine,” she told Weiss one night over dinner, a fancy restaurant Weiss had picked to try and cheer her up, “I know now, so I can find her.” 

“But what if they didn’t tell you for a reason?” Weiss was biting her lip, pushing her food around on her plate- on the one hand, she wanted Ruby to meet her sister, to fill that hole she’d been carrying since her mother passed, but on the other… “I mean, you just told me she lives in a bandit camp… Have you really thought this through?” 

“I know, I know…” Ruby looked out the window of the restaurant, the lights from town glittering in the dark, the people bustling down the sidewalk, “It’s just- She’s family, Weiss! How could I not try and find her! What if she’s been looking for me! What if she doesn’t even know she HAS a sister!”

Weiss was quiet for a moment, but she knew that Ruby wasn’t going to budge on this- and if she were being honest with herself, she didn’t really expect her to. 

In those rare, vulnerable moments Ruby had where she let herself show the weight she carried, she had told Weiss that she felt like something was missing. And when Yasmin dropped out, it had done nothing to help. The school had offered to find a new person, but they all decided against it and Ozpin had let them run the group with three. 

Weiss was fairly certain he hadn't been surprised when they'd exceeded all expectations. 

No, she was positive Ruby was going to do what she wanted to do. 

Which usually meant she was going to do something incredibly stupid.   


___  


She had remembered overhearing from Qrow that the camp Yang lived in was about 70 clicks from Haven academy. Looking at a map of the area, she had narrowed it to less than five plausible locations. 

A plane, then a train, then walking got her to the first in less than a week. An empty clearing sheltered on one side by mountains, with no people in sight. 

The second was also a bust, but Ruby had kind of suspected it would be, its proximity to a lake convenient but less tactical than the rest. 

The third, though, seemed to be the winner, Ruby thought a bit sardonically as she dangled upside down from a tree, her ankle caught in a fairly primitive snare that she had been wholly aware of and triggered intentionally. Crescent Rose would take care of the rope with no effort, so she wasn’t so much trapped as she was bait. 

Her would be captors eventually came, though, which was a relief, because the blood was starting to go to her head, and she had been considering cutting herself free a few minutes earlier.  “Well, well, well, look what we have here. A huntress.”    
  
“Yep.”    
  
“This snare is for animals, you must be pretty stupid to fall for it.”    
  
“Seems so.”    
  
The men shuffled a bit at that, glancing at the one that seemed to be the leader of the group who squinted up at her, “How’d you get caught in that, anyway.”    
  
“Walked into it.”    
  
“...Why.”    
  
“There’s someone I want you to take me to.” 


	2. Chapter 2

If Yang were being completely honest, she hadn’t thought of her half-sister in over a year. 

She had been fifteen when she had found out about her. 

Her mother had decided she was officially an adult, and Yang sat quietly on the floor of her tent while Raven explained that after Tai had let them go, he got with Raven’s best friend and had another kid. 

Yang wasn’t sure how to feel about that, aside from carefully neutral; she certainly felt no attachment to this girl she’d never met, and had zero intentions to ever meet. To Yang, this supposed half-sister was nothing more than a vague, distant thing she sometimes remembered when she was angry at Tai in the middle of the night. Another thing to direct her ire at, as she lay awake, red eyes trying to burn a hole through the intricately draped canvases that made up her roof. 

So, when this short, black haired girl with a ridiculous red cloak walked into the camp, hands bound and weapon dragging behind Jace, heavy enough that it visibly pulled him to one side, Yang was not expecting that this was Ruby Rose, her half-sister from Vale. 

And when Jace said, “Hey, boss, this girl asked for you by name” Yang kind of naturally assumed it was someone trying to collect a bounty, or an assassination attempt gone wrong, or something of the like. She was not expecting the girl to dash forward, stopping a few feet short of Yang with a giant smile on her face, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. 

“Yang? Is that you?” 

“Who’s asking?” 

“My name is, uh, Ruby? Ruby Rose. From Vale? I’m, uh, I’m your sister.” 

Yang stared at her for a long while, burning red eyes taking in as much as she could about the girl before her, the silence stretching for an uncomfortably long amount of time. 

“Uhhh….” 

“I don’t have a sister.” Yang turned on her heel, shouting out to the men behind her, “Put her in the cell. I don’t have time to deal with her right now. We’ll figure out what to do about it tomorrow.” 

___

Weiss and Blake were very glad they ignored every word their leader had said about ‘needing to do this alone’ and, ‘she’s my sister, what could go wrong’ and, ‘it’s going to work out great, you’ll see!’ and tailed her the entire way to Mistral, because they had been watching Ruby swing gently from the tree she had (intentionally, they noted with no small amount of disdain) gotten herself stuck in and felt their already low confidence in this plan plumet. 

“What the hell does she think she’s doing?” Weiss hissed out to Blake, eyes narrowing at Ruby swinging back and forth, her fingers tapping impatiently against her arm as she waited for someone to check the snare, “Four years of combat school, the leader of the top team at Beacon and this is the best she could come up with?” 

Blake’s ears were pressed against her head in annoyance, pressing a hand to her face as she sighed. “This is hard to watch.” 

“Couldn’t she have just...knocked? At this point, that would be smarter.” 

“Maybe she figures this will make her seem like less of a threat?” 

“I think she’s just an idiot.” 

Blake didn’t respond, which told Weiss all she needed to know about her thoughts on that particular issue. 

Eventually, a group came and collected her, and Weiss and Blake followed from a safe distance, hiding in the trees outside the encampment walls, high enough up that they could see over the barricade as a bound Ruby was shoved before a woman with the blondest hair either had ever seen. 

Ruby was speaking; Weiss could tell because the woman seemed annoyed. Blake could tell because she could hear her, and she also looked annoyed. 

“We’re going to be rescuing her from here, aren’t we?” 

Ruby was dragged towards a large cage, and Blake and Weiss sighed in unison, “Yep.” 

___

“Yaaaannngggg!” 

She had been whining, shouting and pleading like that for nearly four hours, and Yang was almost ready to just kill the twerp and be done with it, but knew that Raven would want the final say in that matter and really didn’t feel like dealing with her if she made the wrong decision. 

If she weren’t Tai’s kid, this could’ve been over hours ago.

“I can’t take this anymore! She’s driving me crazy!” 

“So go tell her to shut up.” Vernal was less than thrilled with the screaming as well, if the way she was rubbing her temples was any indication. “If I have to listen to this for another second I’ll kill her myself.”

“And when Raven finds out you killed Tai’s daughter?” 

“Small price to pay for the migraines to stop.” 

“YAAAAAANNNGGGGGGG!” 

“Fine! I’ll deal with it!” 

“Thank god!” Jace called from just outside her tent, and she glared in his direction before stalking out the door, giving him a shove on her way past. 

“I can’t believe I have an entire camp here, and not one of you can get a little girl to shut up.” 

“In our defense, she’s really annoying.” 

“I can see that.”

She took long strides towards the cell, fists balled at her sides, eyes glowing like embers in the evening dusk.

“You called?”

“Yang! Hi! Thanks for coming!” 

If Ruby wasn’t literally in a jail cell, Yang would have punched her so hard she’d wake up back in Vale, far, far away from here and out of her life.

“I didn’t really have a choice, considering the constant. Barrage. Of screaming.” Each word brought her closer to the bars, each word another flare to her eyes, but Ruby just wrinkled her nose.

“Yeah, it wasn’t my favorite way to spend my Thursday night, either.” 

Yang wasn’t really sure how to respond to that, so she didn’t and instead just glared at the girl, hoping that she could make it very abundantly clear that fucking with her would be a very, very, bad idea. 

“To be fair, you could have stopped this like…...hours ago.” 

Yang’s gauntlets clicked into place, and Ruby smirked a little, totally unafraid of the active threat of violence against her. 

“I mean, I didn’t travel halfway across the world to not have a conversation with my sister.” 

“Half-sister.” 

“That’s a 50% increase over no sister! I’ll take it!” 

“That’s not what I-”

Ruby’s expression told Yang that she had lost any advantage she’d had (if she’d had any to begin with), and she turned on her heel to leave, only to be stopped by Ruby shouting ‘YAAAAANNNNGGG’ again. 

She turned, face dark. “What.”

“Aren’t you even going to ask why I came?” 

“No.”

“Why not?” 

“Because I don’t care.” 

“I can’t believe I find out I have a cool older sister, like, a week ago, and not only is she not even a little surprised that I exist, but she doesn’t even want to talk!” Ruby crossed her arms and gave what was possibly the single most over the top pout Yang had ever seen. “If I didn’t know better, Yang, I’d think you didn’t want me here.” 

“Lean into that feeling.” 

From across the camp, two figures sat in a tree, watching this unfold.

“What’s she saying?” 

“.....”

“Blake...what’s she saying?” 

“She’s going to fucking die.” 

____

Ruby was pacing the confines of the cage, and if she didn’t share intimidation levels with the average golden retriever, Yang might have compared her to a lion in a too small enclosure. 

The benefit to tents were that you could lift the flap and remain mostly hidden, something she had abused when she was young and wanted to spy on the adults in the camp, and something that served her well now, when she wanted to keep an eye on the prisoner she’d begrudgingly taken on. 

The girl occasionally stopped, and seemed to be scanning the camp for something, most likely for Yang herself, though possibly for her weapon, which Yang had put in her own tent to examination later. 

The people milling about seemed to be giving her a wide berth, though. As if they were afraid of her for some reason, this 5’2” girl in a skirt. 

Yang hoped Raven got back soon so they could finally be rid of this annoyance once and for all. 

__

The grimm attacked suddenly. 

They came in the middle of the night, and swarmed the camp without warning, and without hesitation. 

The tribe had a lookout, of course, but it meant very little when 70+ grimm were raining down from the pitch black of the forest.

Yang burst from her tent at the first shout, with Vernal coming just a few seconds later, both fully dressed and armed and unhampered by sleep. 

The majority of the rest of the tribe, however, were bleary-eyed and stumbling into pants and shirts and holsters, trying to keep from being slaughtered by the invading monsters that came from all sides. 

“What the hell is happening!” 

Chaos was erupting at the main gate, but it certainly wasn't limited there- between nevermores from the sky and ursa breaking through the walls, it was quickly turning into a bloodbath. 

Her tribe were doing what they could with makeshift weapons, or knives and guns wholly unmatched to the enemy before them. The screams were getting louder, and what had once been a group of people standing to fight had devolved into a frenzy of panicked bodies all trying to escape the claws and teeth surging before them. 

“What are you doing! Fight, you idiots!” But the people who were streaming past her either didn’t hear her orders or were disregarding her completely as they made a mad dash to the rear door, preferring to take the uncertainty of the forest over the certainty of death. 

Yang gritted her teeth and pushed forward.

___

“Yang, watch out!” Yang’s eyes were wide as she noticed the grimm that was swiping at her from her side as she was holding off two ursa from the front, and she tried to move to keep from getting hit but she was stuck in place by the combined strength of the two massive grimm before her. 

She was going to take the hit, and it was going to hurt. After all the energy she’d expelled in the past half hour of fighting, her aura was sapped. 

A burst of petals, the brightest red Yang had ever seen, swirled around her, condensing into-- Ruby? 

Ruby was between her and the grimm, her aura still intact and she stopped the strike, the force throwing her backwards into Yang with a heavy thud. 

The hit had been strong enough to dislodge Yang from where the two ursa had had her pinned, which was something only briefly worth celebrating, since a second later Yang felt her arm snap, rivets of pain trailing from her elbow to her wrist and up through her shoulder. 

“Where’s my weapon!”

Yang couldn’t respond, her vision was spotty, speckled with white as her mind struggled to make sense of words through the pain. 

“Yang! My weapon!” 

“Here!” A girl with white hair was there, throwing Crescent Rose through the air like it weighed nothing and trusting Ruby to catch it, “What do we do?” 

“Clear the grimm then help the survivors! What are you doing here?” 

“Like we were going to let you come to a bandit camp in the middle of the woods in a different kingdom alone? Get a grip, Ruby.” Her words were interspersed with the sounds of her thrusting her sword through any grimm that made it too close. 

Ruby pouted a bit, “You guys don’t trust me?”

“Not particularly.” 

A faunus with long black hair and amber eyes appeared at Ruby’s side, and three grimm fell to her left, and Ruby smiled, “Yeah, I can’t say I blame you.”

Yang’s world was starting to come back into focus, and it hurt. She couldn’t recall ever feeling pain like this before- no fight had ever lasted long enough to get her to this level of aura depletion, and even if it had, no one had managed to land a hit she hadn’t intended on taking since she was a child. 

Her arm, it was definitely broken, and she knew it would take time for her aura to heal it- time she didn’t have with the grimm on the offensive. 

“Ruby…” Through everything that was happening, though, there was one thing she couldn’t stop thinking about, “Ruby…. You… could have left that cage whenever you wanted!” 

“Uh…”

“Can we worry about that after? We have bigger things to deal with, don’t you think?” 

“No one’s left...”

In the chaos of the fight, maybe even when they had seen her get hit, whoever had remained, who hadn’t been killed had run like those before them, trading loyalty for life. 

All that was left was Yang.

“Yang’s hurt, so let’s finish this quickly!” 

The two girls didn’t respond, instead falling into position at Ruby’s cue, some well placed glyphs keeping the grimm from advancing while they set up.

“Keep them from getting too close to her, I think her arm’s in really bad shape.”

“I think we should let the grimm have her, personally, but fine.” 

“Weiss….” 

“Fine. Let’s just do this.” 

They moved in perfect sync, as if they’d been doing it their whole lives. A blur of motion, Blake blending into the shadows, Weiss a stark contrast to the darkness around her, Ruby bright and clearly visible in the center of camp, spinning mid air and slashing three grimm through their middles with seemingly no effort. 

It was a hard fight, for just the three of them. There were a lot of grimm, and more kept coming from the woods, attracted to the fear the camp had been putting out, the scent of blood, metallic and sharp, that was seeping into the dirt all around them. 

It was a hard fight, but they won it, with no injuries but a thin scratch that ran down the length of Blake’s leg and a bruise that was already fading on Ruby’s collarbone. 

The camp was silent.

___

“Let me see your arm.” 

“Don’t touch me!” 

“Just let me see your arm.” 

“No!” 

“Fine!” Weiss stormed off, standing near Blake a few feet from where Yang and Ruby sat in the center of the now mostly destroyed camp. 

“You should let her look at it, you know. She’s way better at this than I am.”

“You’re not looking at it either! No one is touching it! My aura will take care of it soon.” 

Ruby looked doubtful at that, and Yang made sure to not let on that she’d seen. 

“So, now what?”

“Now I find my tribe and you go back to your cushy life in Vale and out of mine.” 

“You’re going to go traipsing through the woods like that?” Apparently Weiss couldn’t mind her own business for more than three minutes at a clip, and Yang didn’t bother to hide her anger at being lectured. 

“I do what I have to do. If that means searching the woods for my family, then so be it.” 

“Yeah, some family you have. They ran the second you went down.” 

“That’s what they’re supposed to do! The tribe is worth more than a single person!” 

“Would you have run?” Yang stopped at that and glared up at Blake who was standing in front of her now, hovering over Ruby’s shoulder. “Because I don’t get that feeling from you.” 

“And I care about your feeling...why?” 

“I know you’re in pain, but that’s no reason to be rude, Yang.” Ruby’s tone was disappointed, which was one of the few pleasures Yang had had today.

“You obviously don’t know me, because I was being nice.” The look on her face said the exact opposite, however, and Blake shook her head before going back to join Weiss. 

“So how exactly are you planning on handling ...That?” Ruby motioned at Yang’s arm, and Yang grimaced, pushing herself to a standing position with her one good arm and making her way towards her tent, coming out a few seconds later with a bottle of whisky. 

“Like this.” 

“I’m...not sure that qualifies as ‘handling’ it…” 

“Sure does in my book.”

“You know that’s a blood thinner, right?” 

“Good, then I can die and not have to listen to you three talk anymore.” To make her point, Yang took a swig from the bottle, then another, then a third. She grabbed a wooden dowel from one of the half destroyed tents and put it between her teeth, then sat on the ground and started the arduous task of removing her jacket and shirt to examine the damage to her arm. 

She realized, very quickly, that it was nearly impossible to take the jacket off without help, her right arm was completely useless and wholly unable to move, let alone grab the opposing sleeve to get her one good arm out of. 

Her left arm could grab the sleeve, but her right couldn’t bear even the idea of moving, let alone actually bending in any capacity. 

She looked up at the three girls who had invaded her camp and came to the conclusion that she would have no choice but to ask them for help if she wanted to treat this. 

By the looks on their faces, they had come to the exact same conclusion long before she had, a fact that made asking for their help even less palatable, which was impressive since she already had zero desire to do it. 

“Do you want us to…” 

“Yeah.” 

“Okay.” 

Blake came up behind her, while Ruby and Weiss kneeled in front of her, their eyes on the one good arm with the shiny red gauntlet she had left, still cocked and ready from the fight. 

“You’re not going to, like, kill us when it hurts, are you?” 

A long pause.

“...Yang?”

“I’m deciding.” 

With a careful cut, Yang’s jacket was sliced down the back, and then again from shoulder to wrist by Blake’s katana. She was careful to not move the arm too much, but even with the dowel back between her teeth, Yang hissed in pain. 

“Oh, Yang…” 

“Cut the sleeve and let’s get this done.” 

“Yang, you might really need a doctor.” 

“Just cut the sleeve.” 

Blake was even more careful with this cut, the tightness of the shirt making it hard for her to keep from cutting the skin underneath, to keep from moving the arm. 

She did it though, a clean slice that left Yang with one sleeve and another in tatters on the ground.

Her arm was most certainly in pieces, bent at a strange angle, and the three girls made sympathetic sounds when they saw it. 

The force of Ruby slamming into her had made the arm still trapped in the ursa’s grasp snap like a twig, and already she could see the faint bruising of her wrist, as well as a sharp series of claw marks that hadn’t quite healed yet which marred the side of her forearm. 

“Well.” 

Weiss, Blake and Ruby looked at each other, then at Yang, then at each other again, before finally settling back on Yang. 

“...Well?” 

“Well. This sucks.” Yang took another swig of the whisky, then turned the bottle over, pouring the alcohol over the wound, hissing sharply when the pain registered. 

“What are you doing!” 

“Cleaning it, obviously.” Her teeth were gritted and her voice tight, but she figured that for helping her get her arm free she could at least answer their question, however stupid it was. 

“With rum?”

“Whisky.” 

“Oh my god.” 

“What? I’ve got to clean it somehow! You have a better idea?” 

“Yeah! A Doctor!” 

“I’m really hoping you just pretend to be this dumb. I’m a bandit living in the middle of the god damn woods, miles away from the nearest podunk village, let alone a city with a hospital!” 

“So let’s take you to one!” 

“So, what? They can it set in jail when they arrest me for crimes against the kingdom? No thanks.” 

“Would you rather walk around with a broken arm for the rest of your life?”

“Sure seems that way.” 

__

“I can’t believe we’re taking her to find a group of blood thirsty bandits!” 

“It’s either that or let her get eaten by grimm while she wanders the woods alone!” 

Weiss was quiet for a moment, a look of disbelief on her face, “How exactly is that a bad thing again?” 

“Weiss…” 

“Ruby just found her sister, I’m sure she would prefer that she didn’t die.” 

“She wouldn’t give you the same courtesy, you know.” 

“It’s a good thing that I love her anyway.” 

“How can you love someone you only just learnt about less than two weeks ago!” 

“She’s my sister, Weiss. If you’d just learnt about Winter, wouldn’t you love her, too?” 

Weiss stilled at that, frowning in a way that told Ruby she’d made her point. 

“Fine. But I still say we sleep in shifts so we don’t get killed in the middle of the night.” 

“Fine.” 

__

Yang’s arm hurt so badly she could barely think. 

She’d done her best to set it, snarling at anyone who came too close while she put it in place. 

She’d watched Vernal set Carmine’s leg when she’d fallen out of a tree while scouting, so she knew the gist, but eventually Blake had to come and help when she almost passed out from the pain doing it herself.

“Stubborn.” Blake had muttered under her breath, and Yang knew she was only helping because Ruby had asked her to. Weiss came over with some straight planks and cord for splinting, and Ruby hovered anxiously around them, weapon drawn in case any grimm felt Yang’s distress and remembered they existed. 

Finally they managed to get it in what seemed to be a proper position. In a worst case scenario it could be rebroken and reset, but Yang was sure it was ‘close enough’, which seemed to be the wrong answer by the way the three grimaced. 

Now they were lying around a campfire, Ruby and Blake asleep while Weiss kept watch to make sure she didn’t decide they weren’t worth the hassle after all. 

Her good arm twitched as she imagined slitting her throat. 

Weiss was alternating between staring at her and watching the main opening to the camp, alert and, if Yang was reading her right, annoyed. 

They sat in silence for a while, before Weiss spoke, her voice soft to keep from waking her team. 

“When she found out she had a sister, she called me crying, you know.” 

“What?” Yang’s eyes narrowed, the light from the fire flickering in the crimson red, “Why?” 

“Because she’s a good person. Because she heard she had an older sister for the first time at eighteen years old and realized she’d missed so much. She called me crying and said, ‘Weiss, I have to find her’. She didn’t even tell her-- your -- dad. Left a note for him to find when he got back from his trip. She barely knew anything about you- just that you were in a bandit tribe and somewhere in Mistral. She mapped out all the possible locations you could be and caught the first airship out of Vale.” 

“Why are you telling me this?” 

“Because you need to be nicer to her.” 

“She heard about me and jumped the first plane outta there, only to be disappointed that her sister’s a murderer? Well, that sounds like her problem, not mine. I didn’t ask her to come.” 

“She’s not disappointed in you. She should be, but she’s not. And if you hurt her, and I don’t just mean physically, I will personally end your miserable excuse for a life.” 

“I’d like to see you try.” 

Weiss just smiled, and Yang tried to ignore how it unnerved it made her feel.

___

Blake switched out for Weiss sometime in the middle of the night, but Yang wasn’t sure when. She’d fallen into a fitful, pained sleep and woke a few times whenever she moved too much and the pain became unbearable, but each time felt less coherent than the time before.

Ruby took one look at her in the morning and decided they weren’t moving that day, and no matter how much Yang wanted to leave and find her tribe, she knew she was in no shape to walk yet. 

So the idiots blundered around the camp, making piles of supplies and tools that would be useful for their trip. 

Ruby came over a few times to examine Yang’s arm, and Yang, who by this point had finished off the bottle of whiskey from the night before and had moved onto a new one, let her. She adjusted the straps and planks, and Yang felt something ‘click’ into place, and it hurt but dimly and after a bit the pain from before felt a little less. 

She fell into an alcohol induced slumber. 

Lunch was some canned goods, and tea from Raven’s tent went well with dinner, some fish that Blake had gotten from the nearby river. 

They settled in to one of the least damaged tents in the compound and after watching Yang for a while, decided that they would move out the following morning. 

Yang couldn’t wait. The sooner they moved, the sooner she’d be rid of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I had intended to post this on Thursday, but had an extremely hectic week. Thank you for all the lovely comments and kudos! They always make my day! :D


	3. Chapter 3

Blake’s eyes were surprisingly sharp, even for a faunus, and especially for someone who was pretending to read. 

She glanced up briefly at Yang everytime she so much as moved, and didn’t bother to hide it or even look ashamed whenever Yang caught her in the act. 

‘Smug bastard.’ Yang scoffed as Blake made eye contact for the third time in as many minutes. “What? You need something or you just trying to annoy me?” 

Blake stared at her quietly for a moment, her amber eyes glowing in the faint dark. Weiss and Ruby had gone to collect more wood for the fire, and Blake was left to make sure Yang didn’t run off without them. 

As if she could outrun them in her condition, especially with the pain the long trek through the woods was radiating through her. 

“You have been fidgeting for a while, do you want something to read? I have an extra book here.” 

“Yeah, I’m gonna pass on that.” 

“Alright, but if you change your mind…” 

“I won’t.” 

They sat in awkward silence until Weiss and Ruby came back carrying a few bundles of wood and a rabbit that Ruby had found snagged in the snare she’d set earlier. 

“We got dinner! It’s not big, but it should tide us over until the morning at least.” 

“I have some apples still, so between them and that we should be fine.” 

Apples. Yang couldn’t remember the last time she’d had an apple. It must have been two or three years ago, at least. They weren’t native to Mistral and only made their way through the markets of the larger towns in fall. 

She remembered liking them, though, and was wondering what the odds of her stealing them were with her arm the way it was. 

She sized up her opponents and frowned- not good. Brute force was out, and charm had been out since the first few seconds of meeting them, so she was resigned to the fact that she would not be getting a single apple, let alone all the apples which is really what she wanted.

“I’ll start the rabbit if you two want to get some water on to boil. If we do it now it’ll be cool enough to drink with dinner.” 

“Sure thing.” Blake closed the book she’d been reading and brought their collapsible pot to the river they’d set up camp near, returning a minute later with it full of water and putting it over the camping stove they had set up just for this purpose. 

Water on to boil, and rabbit cooking on a spit, finally the three girls settled in around the fire, doing maintenance on their weapons and mending any tears that had formed in their clothing. 

Yang sat on the opposite side from them, avoiding any attempts at being drawn into the conversation by giving short, one word answers until they finally stopped trying. 

She ignored how sad Ruby looked and closed her eyes, arm throbbing in the makeshift sling Blake had rigged for her. 

Speaking of Blake, she was eerily quiet- Yang hadn’t noticed her at all until she cleared her throat. She was standing over her with her hand outstretched, a pink colored apple held out, its skin catching the light from the fire, the glow making it even more enticing. 

“What’s this.” 

“An apple?” 

“Why.” 

Blake wrinkled her brow, her head tilted to one side. She was silent for a moment, as if trying to figure out what to say. “Because I have enough to go around, and I’m not the type of person to announce I have something, only to exclude someone from it.”

“Your first mistake was saying you had it to begin with- You could have had them all to yourself.” 

“I don’t want them for myself, I bought them to share.” 

Yang struggled to make sense of that for a second; bought them to share? Sometimes someone in the camp might trade for something, or share with their closest friend, but never the entire camp, never with purchased goods, and never something as rare as fruit. Was this girl an idiot, or were there ulterior motives? 

“I’m good. I don’t want it.” 

“Liar. You’ve barely looked away from it since I showed it to you. Just take the apple.” 

“I’m not giving you anything in exchange, you know. I don’t owe you anything for this.” 

“It’s just an apple, Yang.” 

Yang snatched it out of her hand before Blake could change her mind. 

Blake shook her head at her, seemingly disappointed before walking back to her spot at the fire.

It didn’t matter, she’d made it clear she wouldn’t be doing her any favors so she couldn’t hold her to anything later.

Yang took a bite out of it. It was sweet, and her eyes fluttered briefly in pleasure. It had been a long time since she’d had one of these, and it had been a different type, bright red and waxy. Nothing like this one, which made its own juice when she bit into it. 

She realized the three idiots weren’t talking, and looked up only to find that they were all staring at her in fascination. 

“What now?” 

“Do...Do you want my apple, too?” Ruby held her out questioningly, “You can have it, if you want?” 

Yang’s eyes narrowed, “Why.” 

“You sound like a broken record. They’re being nice, just take the apple and be quiet.” 

“Weiss…” Ruby sighed, then stood and made her way over to Yang, who glared at her every step of the way, “Here. I can get these basically whenever back home, so it’s fine.” 

Yang eyed the apple, aware that the one she’d been given was almost gone already. 

“Fine. If you want to give it away so bad I’ll take it, but that’s just stupid of you.” 

“No, Yang, it’s just the right thing to do.” 

Yang didn’t respond, turning away from Ruby to finish the apple Blake had given her, her shoulders not relaxing until she heard Ruby settle down by Weiss. 

The right thing to do, huh? 

She took a loud bite, shaking her head to herself. 

They really were idiots.

__

They traveled during the day, as far as they could with Yang’s arm still mangled. The healing was taking longer than expected, even though her aura was back to full. She was able to move her fingers now, but anything more than that was too painful to attempt. She was hardly able to do simple tasks, and anytime there was a grimm attack, the best she could do was fend off any that got too close to her, her arm screaming in protest every time she tensed it. 

The idiots didn’t seem to mind, though, and without even discussing it (as there were very few times all three weren’t in earshot of Yang) they handled the attacks, creating a circle around her whenever possible to keep her from harm. 

They also cooked, always enough for Yang, usually enough for her to have seconds, even if they only had one. 

They helped her tie her shoes, and put on the jacket she’d salvaged from the camp, and they lifted anything that took two hands to manage. They strapped her gauntlet on her good arm every morning, and took it off every evening, always with at least a forced smile, an attempt at conversation. Ruby would cluck over her arm, and tell her to move it, to stretch it whenever she could, but any motion sent waves of nausea roiling through her, so after the third time she snapped at Ruby to mind her own business. 

Yang was annoyed by all of the attention; the clawing feeling of being helpless kept her on edge and she was even less kind than she’d normally be, sneering at them when they came too close without a clear reason, or ignoring them when they tried to make small talk. 

Tonight was no exception- they had just reached the rendezvous point that Yang had assumed her tribe would have gone to, only to find out they were nowhere to be seen. They made camp there, Yang’s temperament even worse than it had been the past few days, to the point where Ruby, Weiss and Blake gave up trying to talk to her at all. 

Blake riffled through her bag and pulled out a book, her sharp eyes able to read it even in the dim light from the campfire. 

“Would you mind reading it out loud?” Weiss had her head on Blake’s shoulder and she looked like she could fall asleep at any minute. Ruby perked up at that and shifted to rest her head on Weiss’ lap in anticipation of a story. 

“Sure, if you’d like. This is ‘The Man With Two Souls’, and it’s one of my favorites.”

Yang had been feigning sleep, but after a few minutes of Blake’s reading she cracked an eye opened, hoping no one noticed her paying attention. 

She could read, but not like that, and books were far and few between in the camp to begin with. Mostly it would be papers, magazines, things that were cheap and easily disposable. Traveling light was the main focus, and most members only had one or two books to their name, assuming they could read at all.  
Blake was very good at storytelling, her voice shifting a bit for each character, her tone suiting whatever was being narrated perfectly. She almost never stumbled over words, and she read it smoothly, not in the stalling way Yang read, with stops and starts and figuring out how to pronounce things. 

Weiss and Ruby had fallen asleep pages ago, but Blake kept going, her voice carrying softly through the cool night air, until finally, Yang drifted off, ‘sleep well’ the last words she could remember hearing. 

__

Blake took up the mantle of carrying Yang’s supplies for the day, and Yang begrudgingly handed her the bag, grumbling about how she ‘can handle it’ and ‘I still have one good arm, you know’, but Blake ignored it and slung the duffle across her front, her own bag hanging from her back. 

They had been switching off like this since they’d started their trip, each of the idiots taking turns to handle the burden Yang’s injury caused on the group. 

But this time, Blake didn’t fall back to watch the rear, or move forward to scout ahead. She stayed next to Yang, keeping pace with the girl when Ruby gave the order to start moving. 

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Yang couldn’t take it anymore. 

“What do you want?”

“What?” 

“You must be doing this for a reason. What do you want?” 

“I don’t want anything, Yang, I just thought we could walk together.” 

Yang’s eyes narrowed, but she turned her head to look forward, trying to ignore Blake as best as she could. 

“Do what you want.” 

Blake didn’t respond, but she also didn’t break pace with her, so Yang was stuck with a strange feeling of guilt which only served to make her more annoyed. 

“Why don’t you go bother Weiss or Ruby?” 

“You told me to do what I want.” 

“Why?”

“Why, what, Yang?” 

“Why are you walking with me? Instead of your friends.” 

“Because you seem lonely. Because I’ve been lonely before, too, and I know what a little kindness can mean.” 

“Kindness? What are you talking about? All I see is someone who feels like they failed at ‘getting through to’ me, or whatever other bullshit saviour complex you have going on.” Blake didn’t respond right away, and Yang smirked. “I read you like one of those books you carry around; had you pegged from day one. Got a chip on you like I couldn’t believe. People like you, all you want to do is ‘save the world’, well I got news for ya, not everyone wants saving. Sometimes, people are just bastards.” 

Blake hitched her bag higher up her shoulders, and hummed a little to herself, noncommittally. Yang glanced at her, eyes narrowing as the Faunus smiled in response. “I’ve found that very few people are irredeemable. And if they are, it’s because they’ve made the choice to be that way. Anyone is capable of being better, and doing better, and until they’ve made it clear otherwise, they deserve the chance. So I think I’ll keep you company for a bit longer.” 

Yang stared at her in disbelief, before muttering, ‘suit yourself’. 

The pair walked in silence for the rest of the hike. 

When they finally settled down for the night, Yang slept fitfully.

___

The guy was pathetic as he stood in the clearing outside the camp, his hand shaking as he held the pistol in her face.

His voice was trembling as he said, ”What the fuck is this?”

“You wanted a fight? Here I am.” 

“I wanted a fight with the fucker who busted my face in, not a little girl! Where is he?” 

“I’ll be the one you’re facing today. You can run or you can fight, it makes no difference to me.” 

Everything about Yang radiated danger, and the man knew it, could feel it rolling off her in waves, and when she went to stretch he panicked, pulled the trigger and the bullet disintegrated against her aura. 

Yang saw red, darted forward, one, two, her gauntlets were down already, but she couldn’t remember having done that, and the man was on his knees. A kick to his chin sent him backwards, and she stood over him, foot on his chest as blood ran down his face, pooling and soaking into the soil, the grass, his hair. 

“P-please...Stop…” 

“You came here intending to kill my men.” Yang was speaking, but it felt strange, like it was her but not her, like she was a half step removed from herself. She felt warm. “And now that you’re injured you beg like a coward? Pathetic.” 

“I won’t come back, I promise, I’ll leave and never cause trouble for you again, I swear it!” His words sounded garbled, but Yang didn’t notice the teeth missing, how his jaw was angled, she just saw someone begging, saw weakness, and she struck, felt his flesh split against her fist but it didn’t register to her that she had retracted her gauntlets. She felt bone connect with her knuckles, and he sobbed, ugly and labored as his nose had been broken in the first hit. 

“Please, please, please-” 

She struck again, and again, and again, each hit making her feel more and more distant to herself, like she was watching a movie, like she wasn’t really the one caving his face in, but at the same time she was acutely aware that she was, and she was holding his shirt in one hand, pulling him forward so she could strike him, and she felt a crack from somewhere in him, but didn’t stop, not yet, not yet, not while he’s still there, still on the ground like the pathetic sack of shit he was, so she struck again and again, until someone pulled her off, and she swung at them, too, but missed.

Laughter. 

“What’s so funny?” Why was her voice sore? Things were starting to even out a little, the world was coming back into focus, and bit by bit, things outside of the man were starting to filter back into her consciousness.

“It took you longer than I’d have liked, but you finally did it.” Raven’s voice was recognizable to her now, and she calmed a bit, relaxing her stance.

“What?” 

Her hands hurt. She looked at them, but couldn’t see her skin under all the blood. 

“The man? You killed him. Very good job, by the way, though we need to work on your awareness. It’s the first time you’ve ever had to use your semblance like that, so we’ll have to train a bit more.” 

“I killed him?” 

“Broke his neck. But not before giving him an impressive beating. You did good, Yang. You made the tribe proud. You made me proud.” 

She’d killed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you're all having a nice dinner, and a warm holiday. Please let me know if you're enjoying the story so far- it's completely written in it's entirety, so you guys won't be left hanging with a WIP, I promise ^^;  
All in all, it took me about a year to get this story written, re-written and edited, and I'm rather proud of it.  
Thank you for taking the time to read it!


	4. Chapter 4

“Why is this taking so long!” 

Yang would punch something if the motion didn’t send waves of pain through her arm. Which was what had her so upset in the first place- her arm should be healed by now, but anything more than moving her fingers hurt, and even the idiots seemed to figure out that bothering her would be a bad idea at the moment, since they were giving her a wide berth, packing the camp and exchanging sideways glances at each other when they thought Yang wasn’t looking.   
Eventually, Weiss crossed the clearing they had set up in. She came to a stop in front of Yang, her foot tapping impatiently. 

“What. Do. You. Want.” 

Weiss matched Yang’s glare, and the cool blue seemed like it could burn as easily as her own. “The. Blanket. You’re. Sitting. On.” 

Yang blinked in surprise, looking around to realize it was the last thing that needed to be packed away. 

“Oh.” She stood and moved to the side so Weiss could grab it, but Weiss just stared at her and the blanket, somehow glaring even more than before. 

“The least you can do is pick it up, don’t you think? “

Yang wasn’t sure how to respond to that, because on the one hand she was annoyed that she was so damn helpless and the idiots had to do everything for her, and would, frankly, do anything to be able to carry her own shit, but on the other, she only had one hand, so. 

“Fine.” 

Yang Bent down and grabbed the fabric with her good hand, shaking it out the best she could before lying it back down flat and folding it in segments. She clenched her jaw every time she tried to move her bad arm and Weiss sighed. 

“It’s what you thought, Ruby.” 

“I was afraid of that.” 

Ruby and Blake stopped adjusting the weight in the bags and came over to stand next to Weiss, Blake’s eyes fixed on Yang’s arm while Ruby’s were on her eyes. 

“And what exactly were you thinking it was, Ruby.” Yang’s tone made it clear that whatever it was Ruby thought, it was stupid and not worth listening to. 

Ruby tilted her head a little, and said in as serious a voice as she could muster, “You needed to have been doing physical therapy, and probably also have some splinters in your arm that need to be removed. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s scar tissue preventing the muscles from contracting right.” 

“What the fuck,” Yang stared at Ruby in disbelief, “How the hell do you-” 

“I’m not the team leader because of my fashion choices, Yang. I took extra courses in kinesiology, got both combat and field medic certs and had to go to PT when I broke my ankle two years ago.” 

“Luckily for you,” Weiss would have been looking down her nose at Yang if she weren’t five inches shorter, “All of these can be helped with a doctor, and lessened with some isometrics.” 

Blake must have caught Yang’s blank stare, and added “It’s a type of exercise that will help get your nerves and muscles firing with limited motion, to try and loosen it again.” 

Yang stared at the blanket, shoddily folded on the ground in front of her, and grimaced.

She was in pain all the time, sleep was fitful and never seemed deep enough. She felt helpless, was worthless in a fight and had to rely on three idiots to help her find her stupid tribe. 

At this point she would trade every apple on the planet to be able to take off her jacket on her own. Some exercises? That was nothing.

“If it'll help I'll try it.”

“We’ll do some on the walk. You said the next place to try should be south of here?” 

“Yeah, a few days at best.” 

“Alright,” Blake handed Yang her bright red duffel, “Then let’s get moving.” 

__

The area the group was travelling through was heavily wooded, so Blake took the lead, her sharp eyes and ears making her more suitable for scouting than the rest. Weiss took up the rear.

But so far, the woods were peaceful. Birds chirping in the canopy and the occasional rustling of the underbrush the only sounds. 

The path they were on was wide enough for two to stand side by side and Ruby took the chance to help Yang with her arm while they could. 

“I’m going to put my hand on your arm and you’re going to try to move it, okay? Don’t bend the arm or anything, just steady pressure in one direction.” 

“Fine.”   
Ruby wrapped her hand around Yang’s forearm and Yang pushed, groaning in pain.   
Ruby’s arm barely moved.

“Harder.” 

Yang gritted her teeth and pushed again, trying to raise her arm while Ruby pinned it to her side with seemingly no effort. 

“What the hell, why isn’t it moving?” 

“Leverage and atrophy. Also, I’m stronger than I look. Does it hurt?” 

“Yes.” Her teeth were gritted, and she wanted nothing more than to stop pushing, stop moving it, but Ruby said ‘again’ and Yang obliged, “It shouldn’t hurt this much!” 

“I told you you should have gone to a doctor.” 

“Are we really playing this game? ‘I told you so’? Besides, it’s not like they’d even see me- I’m pretty well known around these parts and our healer died in the attack.” 

“You’re with a team of huntsman, there’s no way they wouldn’t take you! You were just being stubborn!” 

“Stop acting like you know me, Ruby! You don’t know jack shit about me! You heard you had a sister and came barrelling into my life without even stopping to ask if it’s something I’d want! I might be stubborn, but you’re selfish!” 

“Is is so selfish to want to meet my family?”

“It is when that family doesn’t want to be found!”

“You two couldn’t be more related if you tried, now shut up before you attract every grimm in the area!” 

Ruby winced at Weiss’ reprimand but Yang spun on her, red eyes glowing like embers in the muted forest light, “And who the hell are you? Weiss Schnee of the Schnee Dust Company? Yeah, I knew from the second I saw you, princess, don’t look surprised. If I could I’d have bartered you off for a nice sum the moment you stepped into my camp.” 

“Who I am and who I was are two very different people, Yang. Don’t you dare confuse them again.”

“Or what? You’ll glare me to death? Hire someone to kill me?”

Weiss’ smile was polite, but her eyes were cold, “I don’t need to hire someone to do that for me. I’m more than capable on my own.” 

“Guys, please, just-” 

“Shh!” 

Blake’s warning slid through the group and even Yang quieted down. 

They waited. 

The birds had stopped chirping. 

“You couldn’t have waited to argue until we made it out of the woods?” 

“Sorry…” 

“It’s fine, Ruby, just get ready to fight.” 

Yang listened the exchange like she listened to all their exchanges, and shook her head, “You always let them boss you around. Lecture you, tell you what to do- you’re a shitty leader.” 

Ruby looked down at the ground, but shook her head when Weiss went to speak, and the other girl closed her mouth and readied her weapon, “I don’t lead my team with fear, Yang. If they have a problem with something I do, they’re free to tell me.” 

“Weak.” 

Ruby smiled sadly, “I’m sorry you think that.” 

A roar was heard to their right and Blake jumped back to stand in position with the rest, Yang nestled in the middle, the sound of crescent rose unfolding the only noise between them. 

They made small work of the grimm, two beowolves which had been easy to manage with minimal effort on their part. 

Weiss took up the rear, dispensing glyphs that put Ruby and Blake in the perfect position to nearly one hit them, and within a few minutes the fight was over. 

Yang looked at Ruby, who was dusting off her skirt, and realized that this had been intentional.

That Ruby knew that any trail that was wide enough for two people to travel comfortably next to each other must be trafficked with an amount of regularity.

That while Grimm activity wouldn’t be unheard of, the odds of it being substantial were far lower than it otherwise would have been, especially with as much negativity as they’d been giving off. 

Either Ruby was smarter than she’d given her credit for, or the pain was dulling her own mind.

The team sheathed their weapons and picked up the bags they’d dropped before the fight, Blake pulling a stray leaf out of Weiss’ hair with a teasing smile. 

“So that’s it? No explanation? No snide remarks? You’re just gonna let me insult you and get away with it? You’d be eaten alive in a second in the real world.” If Ruby was that aware, that capable, there had to be a reason she let her team push her around like that. No leader got where they were through kindness and compassion. It was taken by force, with teeth and claws and blood, unless, apparently, you were in the fantasy world of Beacon, where the school handed you the position with no effort on your part.

“I’m curious,” Weiss said quietly from her right, “Where exactly you think she’s living, if not the real world.” 

“Weiss, it’s alright.” 

“No, it’s not, Ruby. You might be okay with it, but I’m not. You don’t deserve to be spoken to like this.”

“She’s angry. She’s allowed to be angry.” 

“Stop giving her excuses! She makes enough of them for herself without you doing it for her!” 

“Excuse me! I haven’t made a single excuse for anything I’ve done, because I don’t regret anything I’ve done! 

“And that’s a part of the problem, isn’t it!” Weiss took a step forward and Yang’s good arm snapped up, “You’ve been taught that this whole…” She gestured at Yang, “Badass, uncaring piece of shit act is the only way to get respect, but you’re wrong. You’re just wrong. It gets you nothing but a sense of emptiness and enemies.” 

“And how would you know that? Run with bandits often?” 

“The only difference between a bandit and a capitalist is a stock portfolio.” 

“Yeah, I’m sure your daddy has killed tons of people.” 

Weiss glanced over at Blake before meeting Yang’s eyes, her emotions too complex for Yang to parse out, “He’s done that and more,” she sighed and stood up straighter, defiant, “but because of that, I refuse to be like him. I’m going to live my life how I want to, on my terms, and that means being the kind of person I can be proud of.” 

“Well, good for you, princess. Must’ve been rough, having fancy parties and a warm house, but while you moped about not getting enough love or whatever, me and my family were killing for food. So you’ll understand if I don’t feel too bad.” 

“You’re skilled enough that you could have made an honest living! Your uncle did, after he went to Beacon! Huntresses are always in demand, and the pay is good- good enough that you’d never have to steal to eat again, would be able to have a nice apartment, a solid roof.”   
“Raven also went to that school, and she taught me everything she knows. There’s nothing it can teach me after that.” 

“It can give you the certification needed to get work!” 

“Oh, a piece of paper! How lucky! Just takes three years of things I’m already doing, with the added bullshit of essays!” 

“What a hardship! An education and freedom!” 

“The tribe is where I’m free- society binds you, the academy's bind you! Here, I can do what I want, be what I want, go where I want! Everyday’s an adventure!” 

“You’re more bound here than you’d ever be anywhere else!” This was Blake, her yellow eyes particularly bright in the dim forest. “Trust me, I’ve been there! Fighting to stay free in a world that’s set against you, against people that hate you, doing what you think you have to do to survive, to get respect! But it’s not freedom! You’re trapped, Yang! Trapped in a mentality that it’s you against the world, the world against your family, when you know that’s not true! You don’t get to play the victim when you’re the ones looting and murdering and razing!” 

Yang’s eyes narrowed, smoldering against Blake’s challenge, “We wouldn’t have to do that if-”

“If what, Yang? If people handed you what you wanted? If people didn’t fight back? If you were members of society, instead of standing against it? The only thing set against you, against your family, are yourselves.” 

“What would you know about any of this?” 

The group fell silent, as even Yang realized what she’d said, “I, uh, I didn’t-” 

“You want to know what oppression is really like, Yang? It’s walking down the street and having people cross to the other side. It’s having to go to hide yourself to fit in so you’ll be safe. It’s your friends parents dying in a mining accident, and their classmates laughing at it. It’s not being hired for jobs you’re overqualified for, it’s not being able to find a place to rent, it’s paying more for a drink at a bar, it’s your waitress finding someone else to serve you, and no matter how nice, and polite and kind you are, they still hate you. They hate you just because you were born. You’re not oppressed, Yang, you and your tribe are rightfully feared and disdained because of your actions. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Blake shrugged past Yang to move to the front of the group, “I’m going to put my skills to use and scout up ahead. Hopefully by the time I come back, you’ll have gotten your head out of your ass.” 

“Doubtful.” Weiss muttered and Blake’s ears twitched to show she’d heard it. Yang scowled, but remained silent, grabbing her bag off the ground and heading down the path, aura flaring around her in flame licked bursts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, thank you all for your kind comments! When people show interest in my works it makes me pretty happy ^^; I'm glad to know you're enjoying it. We're at the half way point now!


	5. Chapter 5

Yang sat against the trunk of a tree at the makeshift camp they’d set up in a clearing off the path they’d been following. 

Normally her tribe wouldn’t be anywhere close to an area traversed enough to leave a trail, but the idiots thought it would be safer, so here they were. 

The camp was definitely less put together than usual, though. They had a fire, and their field rations and nothing else. No camping stove, no small talk- at least none directed at Yang, the absence of which she was trying really hard to not notice. 

‘What the hell do they know,’ her eyes narrowed at Blake, who was curled up next to Ruby, basking in the warmth from the fire, ‘they have it so easy! Houses, schools, food, families! Cushy lives for spoiled huntresses who don’t know the first thing about the real world or what it’s like.’ 

Yang stood, kicking her bedroll out to the best of her ability, since no one had come over to help her. She shimmied into it, still wearing her jacket and bracer. 

‘They’ve got no idea what I’ve had to do. They fight, sure, but when it’s done they go home and relax! It’s a game to them.’ 

But as she fell into a fitful sleep, she couldn’t stop dreaming about the huntsman she’d killed last year, with eyes the color of grass and photos of his kids in his wallet, the only thing left after she’d stripped it for cash.

___

“I need a cobbler,” Ruby announced a few mornings later, speaking to the group as a whole, but pointedly not making eye contact with Yang, “My socks are getting soaked with this rain, and it’s the Worst.” 

“I could use some more dust, as well. I’ve gone through a lot more than expected.” 

“And we’re down to our last few water purification tablets, as well as running low on rations.” 

“So it’s decided- We’ll head towards the nearest town to resupply. I’m sure we could all use a night in a proper bed, as well.” 

“I never agreed to this! We have to find my-” 

“We never asked you, and you’re welcome to leave at any time. We are going to a town to restock, and that’s final.” 

“You-” 

“Yang.” Ruby’s eyes were narrowed, but her overall expression read ‘disinterested’. “This is not up for debate. We are going to a town. You can come with us or not, I really don’t care. But if you’re lucky, they’ll have a doctor and maybe you can get some relief.” 

Yang sneered at her, but packed her bag, hating herself for missing the help the idiots had been giving her. 

“Fine.” 

Yang tried not to notice the hollow feeling being disregarded gave her, tried to tell herself that it didn’t matter what attention they did or didn’t pay her, since once they found her tribe they’d be killed regardless. 

But somehow, having Ruby not care…hurt? Is that what she was feeling? It didn’t match the constant flow of anger and annoyance that she normally felt when she was wronged, so she wasn’t sure what to make of this, which only served to make her angrier. 

She hitched her bag onto her good shoulder and followed after them, ignoring the fact that they didn’t wait for her to get ready before leaving. 

____

They found a small village in the early evening. It wasn’t large, but had most of what the team was looking for- a general store sold supplies and small quantities of dust at massively inflated prices (‘highway robbery!’ Weiss complained as she handed the man 22 Lien for a vial of ice dust), a tailor and cobbler shared a small building next door, and the cobbler was happy to repair Ruby’s boots, giving her a pair of tanned leather slippers to wear until he was done (which took a solid inch and a half off her height, making Yang even less impressed than she was before). There was a local doctor, who almost shut the door in Yang’s face before Ruby, Weiss and Blake spoke to him and got him to agree to see her. 

Weiss and Blake sat in the ‘waiting room’, otherwise known as the front half of the single room building the doctor had use of, while Ruby and Yang sat in the back, Yang on a cot and Ruby in a chair across from her. 

“Well, maybe he’ll have something that can help?”

“Yeah, he looks like he has a ton of up to date medical equipment here!” Yang made sure to really lay the enthusiasm on thick so Ruby would be extra sure she was being sarcastic, but Ruby didn’t respond, instead deciding to look out the window. 

“So, your friend is injured, is she?” The doctor had been pointedly talking to Ruby about Yang the entire time they’d been here, and it was starting to get on her nerves. 

“She is.” Yang said before Ruby could respond, and she glared at the man who looked torn between running and kicking her out. 

“Well, what happened?” 

“Broke my arm. Still hurts.” 

“How long ago?”

“About two weeks.” 

“Did you get it looked at?” 

“Not many doctors out where I was.” 

“I need to touch it to see what’s wrong.” The man was glancing between Ruby, who gave him a reassuring smile, and Yang’s gauntlet, which glinted less reassuringly in the light. 

Yang shrugged, but didn’t do anything to make herself seem less dangerous and the doctor came around to her bad side and lifted the arm gently. 

Yang hissed sharply, clenching her good fist but otherwise not moving as the arm was lifted. 

“It hurts pretty bad?”

“It’s not my favorite, no.” 

“Let’s get an X-Ray, then.” 

“I’m surprised you even have one of those here.” 

“Well, the film doesn’t come cheap, so I’m expecting you’ll be paying?” 

Yang scoffed and stood, “Yeah, I ain’t got that kinda money on me, so forget it.” 

“We’ll be paying, yes.” Yang’s head swiveled to Ruby, who was smiling at the doctor, “Whatever it costs, I can cover it.” 

“Alright then, if you’ll follow me? I have it set up over here.” 

Ruby refused to meet Yang’s astonished gaze as she followed the man to the back corner, but Yang’s good hand shook as she made a fist. 

___

The doctor took nearly twenty minutes to develop and read the X-Ray, and no one spoke while they waited. Weiss and Blake sat silently in the front, Weiss reading a magazine and Blake lost in her thoughts. Ruby played a game on her scroll, the volume off so as not to disturb anyone. 

Yang alternated between glaring at the office the doctor was holed up in and glaring at Ruby, who continued to ignore her existence entirely.

The door opened and everyone looked up at once, watching as the doctor made his way over to where Ruby and Yang were sitting. 

“You have something called a ‘nonunion fracture’. This means that the two halves of the bone aren’t fusing together.” He held the X-Ray to the light, pointing out the black space between the two halves of her humerus, “With your aura, this should have been mostly healed by now, but something is preventing it. Either there’s too much space between them, from the bone shattering or being set improperly, or there’s an underlying cause like malnutrition or infection. I’d need blood samples and a CT scan to get more detail; the former will take a little over a week to get back and the latter is only available at the closest hospital, a weeks walk north.” 

“So either way I’m screwed?” 

“I wouldn’t say ‘screwed’- you just need to get it looked at by people with more technology than I have here. The hospital should be able to get you results much sooner than I can, I’d be sending it to them for processing anyway. I’d recommend heading there and getting it treated properly. In the meantime, I can give you something for the pain and inflammation, and brace it more so it doesn’t move, but other than that, there’s nothing more I can do here.” 

“So this was a waste of my time. Great.” Yang kicked her chair as she stood, causing it to topple on its side, “Glad we wasted the day getting here for this.” 

No one stopped her as she stormed out. 

____

The three found her at the town pub, already three whiskeys deep and no intention of slowing. 

“Yang.” 

“What.” 

“I got the medicine the doctor prescribed.” 

“Good for you.” 

Ruby sighed and sat next to her, shaking her head, “You’re such a dick.” 

“Glad you’re finally catching on.” 

“You need to go to the hospital.” 

“It’ll heal.”

“You left before he could explain it more- if you don’t get it treated you could lose all strength in your arm, it’ll atrophy because you can’t use it. If it’s infected, it could become gangrenous and you could need amputation. I don’t think your tribe would be too thrilled having dead weight.” 

“I’m twice the fighter anyone is, even with one arm down.” 

Weiss scoffed from somewhere behind her, “That I highly doubt.”

“I’m three times the fighter you are with two arms down.” 

“No offense, Yang, but I don’t think you could take her with four arms.” 

“What did you just say to me?”

“You heard me.” 

“I’ll take her right now! Unless the princess is too afraid.” Yang was intoxicated, but just enough to make her dangerous. When she stood, she was steady, the gauntlet on her good arm sliding into place as she held Weiss’ gaze.

Weiss scoffed, flipping her ponytail behind her shoulder, “I’m not afraid, and I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. But,” She glanced around at the pub, the family with children in the back corner, the bartender’s pleading look, and motioned towards the door, “we’ll take it outside.” 

Yang followed Weiss out, who was followed by Blake and Ruby. When the group made it to the dirt clearing a few yards from the building, Blake spoke up. 

“Some ground rules- no permanent injuries, no killing, no maiming, and no property damage. First to 15 aura loses.”

“I don’t have an aura tracker, and I don’t need one. This will only take a second.” 

“They should bottle your confidence, Yang. They can name it ‘unearned’ and it’d sell for a fortune.”

“Yang?” Yang glared at Ruby, waiting for her to speak, “I hope you learn something from this.”

___

Yang swung, a perfect left hook, but came away with nothing but air. 

Weiss was toying with her. 

Her sword was drawn, but so far she’d only used it to block and evade- she hadn’t taken a single swipe at Yang, and it was driving her nuts. 

“What’s wrong, too scared to fight me for real? Just going to keep running?” 

Weiss only smirked and flipped out of the way of a strike that Yang desperately wished she could follow up with. 

If Yang were being honest with herself, she was in pain. Every motion of her good arm sent tremors of pain down her bad one. She couldn’t keep this going for too much longer, and they both knew it. 

“Hit me, Schnee!”

Weiss blocked the next two strikes, even with the full force of Yang’s gauntlet behind them, then dodged the kicks and sweeps that she directed at her after. Nothing was landing, not a single strike, until one did. 

Yang swung wide, hoping to lure her in for a knee to the stomach, only for Weiss to jump back. Seven white circles appeared in the air around Yang, ‘glyphs’ she remembered Ruby calling them, and suddenly Weiss was everywhere at once, strike after strike after strike each one landing and not one hitting her bad arm. 

When she was done she landed a safe distance away, and Yang stumbled, the pain finally catching up to her. 

Ruby was at her side in a flurry of petals, and ducked her head out of the way of the sloppy punch Yang threw on instinct. 

“Yang. Yang, you need to take this.” 

“Wha-” 

“Just take this.” Two pills were put into her mouth and she swallowed them dry before being dragged to her feet by Ruby and Blake. 

“We have to get her to bed.” 

“Yes, god forbid she not be catered to hand and foot.” 

“Weiss, now isn’t the time.” 

“...You’re right. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s alright. But did you really have to toy with her that much?” 

“She was sloppy. She definitely wasn’t up to her full potential, and we both knew it. If I fought her for real, she’d have actually been hurt.” 

“I’m not… I’m not weak” 

“We know, Yang.” 

“I can still fight,” Yang’s words were slurring together, and she wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol, the exertion or the pain, but she felt like she’d been walking for hours. “I’m not a burden...I can still fight” she was aware she was being led somewhere, but she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open and her steps steady.

“But you don’t have to. It’s over. It’s okay to rest, now.”

“S’not okay. I can still fight” 

“Alright, Yang. Alright. You can fight in the morning.” 

“I have to,”

“Alright, Yang.” 

She felt herself falling, but the impact was soft and warm. It felt familiar but she couldn’t place it. Everything seemed far away, like she was drifting. “I didn’t want to kill him.”

Something was rubbing her back, and her face was wet, but her brain felt like a sieve, like things were falling through the cracks, weren’t connecting like they should have, “I didn’t want to kill him. He was so scared. I shouldn’t have done it.” 

“It’s alright, Yang. It’s okay.” 

“S’not.” She heard herself mutter, before falling asleep. 

___

“Do you think it’s worth it?” Ruby asked after the three had settled into the small room they’d rented above the pub. It had two beds, one of which had Weiss and Blake curled up across it (years of experience in subpar accommodations had proven that the three could fit comfortably on a double if they laid the wrong direction) while the second had Yang, unconscious and sprawled, taking up its majority. 

“Yes. If for no other reason than if you didn't try you'd regret it.” 

“She's not making it easy on us, though. Stubborn, hot tempered, standoffish and rude!”

“I have plenty of experience in that from your first year at Beacon.”

Weiss didn't actually have a retort to that, and just made an indignant noise before turning over to face Ruby.

“At least I went into it already wanting to leave my father's shadow. She’s clinging to her mother's for dear life.”

Ruby was sitting in the only chair in the room, which she’d moved to the window to keep a lookout. The town was relatively safe, but that could change in a moments notice out here, away from the capital. 

“It must be scary. Living out here full time, away from the kingdoms.”

“Yeah, probably double for the civilians who are going about their lives without killing each other for scraps.”

“I know. I know, I just- I don’t know.” 

“I've seen what fear can do to people.” Blake propped herself up a bit on her elbow, “What hatred and anger and spite can do to even the most well intentioned. I've been there. I'm not proud of who I've been. What I did because I was told it was right. It takes time to overcome a lifetime of teachings, and if those lessons came at a hard price it takes that much longer. No one wants to admit that the things they did were wrong- even Weiss who has apologized for her behavior doesn't want to discuss it, three years after the fact. Give her time- she’ll change or she won't.”

Ruby was quiet, and Weiss shot a glance at Blake, who continued, “But that's not really what you were asking, was it?” 

“I- I just- dad told me about her just a few weeks ago and I've always felt something was missing. Like there was this hole in our family and once he told me I knew why. All I wanted was my sister back. She missed so much- we missed so much. I just… I dont think im going to find what I was looking for.” 

“You might not. She doesn't seem to hold any fond feelings for you or your father. She doesn't seem to want a sister, let alone a friend. But Ruby- talk to her about it. At least once, before we part ways. Or you'll always wonder if you should have tried harder.”

Ruby sighed and kicked off her boots and unhooked her cloak before climbing into bed between Blake and Weiss. 

They slept soundly until morning. 

___

”What the fuck is this?”

“You wanted a fight? Here I am.” 

“I wanted a fight with the fucker who busted my face in, not a little girl! Where is he?” 

The girls eyes were a dusky pink, the color of dawn through clouds, and she couldn’t have been more than sixteen. She had shiny red gauntlets on her wrists and the wind blew her golden hair, and Yang realized, dimly, that she was looking at herself, that she was dreaming. 

“I’ll be the one you’re facing today. You can run or you can fight, it makes no difference to me.” 

The man shook his head, “I’m not fighting a kid. I don’t kill kids.” 

“So you’re afraid.” 

Yang wanted to run up to her, to tell her to stop, to tell her to go back inside and not do this, but her feet wouldn’t move. 

“ Just stay where you are, I don’t want to do this!” 

‘You don’t want to do this either,’ Yang wanted to scream, ‘You know she’s watching, you’re trying to scare him away, but it won’t work! It work work, so just stop!’ 

The girl was grinning, and the man raised his gun, hand shaking. She raised her aura, flames bursting into life around her. She’d just unlocked it a few days previous, Yang remembered, but she knew it looked impressive, dangerous. 

She raised her arms above her head, in a languid stretch.

Yang and the man yelled ‘stop!’ at the same time, but he pulled the trigger, a single bullet flying out of the gun and exploding against the girl’s aura. 

All three looked scared, but the girl started screaming, her fists coming up to the man’s face with startling swiftness, her eyes a deep, crimson red that shocked Yang with their stark contrast to the soft pink they were before. 

Did this moment mark the line? The no going back point between who she could have been and who she became? 

The man was sobbing, his tears mixing with the blood that ran down his face. The girl was still screaming, and Yang knew that she was lost in a blind rage. She’d since learnt to accept that power, to give into it, but watching it play out shook something inside her. 

There was a crack, as loud as the gunshot had been, and suddenly she was looking through the girl’s eyes, the man’s neck was at an unnatural angle but she kept striking out, hit after hit landing on the dead man’s face until someone put a hand on her shoulder. 

She swung, but it was sloppy and her target easily sidestepped it, laughing. 

“You did it, Yang. You finally did it.

“I’m so proud.” 

Yang woke up, a scream dying in her throat. 

___

Blake and Weiss had left to find food while Ruby packed the few things they’d taken out of their bags the night before. 

Weiss’ hairbrush was on the small nightstand, Blake’s book next to it along with Ruby’s toothbrush and ammo pack. 

She was lost in her thoughts, mentally checking off the items as she double checked the room for anything else they’d used when Yang’s scream shocked her back to herself. 

“What happened!” Ruby already had crescent rose out and opened by the time she responded, poised to strike against whatever had caused that reaction, but instead she found Yang sitting upright in bed, good hand clutching the blanket with a death grip. “Yang? What’s wrong?” Ruby did her best to keep her tone calm once she saw Yang’s expression- it must have been a nightmare. 

“Nothing. It’s nothing.” 

“Yang…” crescent rose collapsed in a smooth motion and she set it on the empty bed before sitting on the edge of Yang’s, “Did you have a nightmare? It happens to me, too, sometimes, it’s alright.” 

“I said it was nothing. I’m fine.” 

“I-...” Ruby stopped, then sighed and nodded, and when she looked back at Yang she was determined, “I wanted to say that- I know things aren’t exactly ...what either of us had hoped for. I know you don’t want anything to do with me, but… I’m still glad we met, that we’re together right now. Once we find your tribe, I’ll be out of your hair, but I’m just…. I’m really glad.” Yang didn’t respond, wasn’t even looking at Ruby, so she continued, “I’m also sorry. I should have told you that earlier. I know things are complicated, but we’re sisters. I’m grateful.” 

“‘Grateful’? ‘Sorry’? You travelled halfway across the world to find a murderer, and you’re happy about it?” 

“I’m happy to have met you. I’m happy to have met my sister. Even if you aren’t who I was expecting. You don’t have to fit into a box for me to want to know you- and if you wanted it, we could maybe? Be friends? Start somewhere simple, y’know?” 

“Friends.”   
“I mean-” 

“Why would I want to be friends with you? Why would I want anything to do with you? After what your father did to me, to Raven?” 

“What ...Do you think he did?” 

“He fell in love with Summer- your mother. He cheated on Raven and that’s why she left!” 

“That’s not what I heard! Raven left because she wanted to be with her tribe, then dad and my mom got together almost a year later!” 

“Yeah, what a shock, your dad might be lying about the shit he did. How weird.”

“Yang-”

Yang threw the blankets off herself and stalked towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. 

Ruby sighed and put the last of the things in the appropriate bags then went to find Weiss and Blake. 

When they came back, Yang was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

“I can’t believe- she- aurg!” Ruby’s hands were knotted up in her hair and she was glaring out the single window, hoping she’d catch a glimpse of Yang’s red and black jacket somewhere on the street. “Why would she just leave like that!” 

Weiss looked like she wanted to say something, but knew that this wasn’t the right time to be snide and held her tongue. Blake put a comforting hand on Ruby’s shoulder and gave her a sympathetic smile, “I’m sorry, Ruby. Maybe she just felt she would be faster on her own?” 

“No, it’s because I talked to her, I know it! I messed up, I should have waited until we got to her tribe, or just never said anything at all! Now she’s going to die in the forest and it’s all my fault!” 

“That’s hardly fair, Ruby. Yang’s an adult, she can make stupid decisions just fine on her own.”

“I-” 

“I agree with Weiss. This isn’t your fault- you told her the truth and she made her choice. I’m sorry that this is the one she made, but maybe it’s for the best.” 

“I wanted to bring her home with me. I wanted her to meet dad and stay for a while,” Weiss and Blake enveloped her from both sides in a hug and Ruby melted into their embrace, “I wanted to get to know her better.” 

“I’m sorry, Ruby. I know it’s tough. But one day she’ll look back on your actions and see you were only trying to be kind, and maybe then you two can try again.” 

“I just feel like a failed.” 

“You didn’t fail, Ruby. You can’t control other people, that’s not a failure. Come on, I’m sure the bakery must be open. We’ll get you a treat before we head to Mistral, and when we get home we can figure out our next step.” 

“Yeah, alright.” 

Weiss and Blake herded Ruby out of the room, shutting the door soundly behind them. 

___

It had to be this camp. There was no other option left. Either they went here, or they fell off the face of the earth, and if Yang was being completely honest, at this point she wouldn’t mind if it was the latter. 

She’d been stuck with the idiots for over two week now and every inch of her was screaming that if she saw one more person she was going to lose it. 

It should only be a day or two to the camp, and if she was lucky she wouldn’t run into any grimm. She had the pain pills the doctor had given her and some of the rations she had stolen from Blake’s bag, and her own supplies, which she had slung over her good shoulder. 

A day or two to get her head on straight. 

She trudged through the woods, keeping her bad arm tight against her side. 

A day or two to come back to herself. 

___

Ruby- who did she think she was, anyway? Wanting to be ‘friends’, after everything that had happened.   
Besides, why would Yang even want to be friends with someone so weak-willed? Someone who lets her own team walk all over her, let alone be related to her?   
As far as Yang was concerned, she had no sister, just the same as it had been before Ruby Rose had waltzed into her life. 

But there was a part of her that was nagging her still, the idea that she had travelled across the continent to come find her. That she had only learnt about her a few weeks before finding her. That even after Yang had been hurt, she stayed and made sure Yang didn’t get hurt further while trying to find her tribe. 

Even her teammates stayed and helped, despite their constant derision. Something that Yang knew had only happened because it was important to Ruby that they do it. 

What Yang couldn’t figure out was why. Why was Ruby so determined to keep her safe, to travel with her, to find her in the first place? What was it she wanted out of her? 

Yang took a swig of water from her canteen and rubbed her bad arm’s shoulder, which was stiff and throbbing from lack of use. 

Even the doctors visit- Ruby had paid for it out of pocket, something that Raven had stopped doing for Yang once she’d turned thirteen. She’d forced them to detour to get her arm looked at, because she knew something was wrong. 

Was it possible Ruby was just doing these things because she was kind? And if so, why had Tai allowed her to be so soft? Who raises a child to be a doormat? To give up her money and food and potentially life to a stranger? 

And if Tai raised her like this, then what type of person was he? Was he was much of a push over as his daughter? 

And if so, how could he have done what he did to Raven? Did he change? Or did he do those things despite his nature? 

Yang shook her head and capped the canteen. These were questions she wasn’t used to asking herself, and the answers didn’t really matter in the long run. What happened happened, and she wasn’t going to be giving either Ruby or her father any place in her life as long as she could help it. 

Weakness was intolerable. 

But when she sat, curled up against the largest tree she could find, her gauntlet on her good wrist, panting from the ursa that had snuck up on her in the dense, rapidly darkening woods, she couldn’t help but feel that she would like to have the idiots with her.

___

The tribe had gone to this camp. 

Yang saw the smoke curling over the tree line and felt a surge of relief wash over her. She hadn’t slept the night before, and instead kept moving, ducking through the trees as quickly as she could in the dark. Her arm was killing her, the fight with the ursa had made it worse, worse even than the fight with Weiss had been, and she had never felt safe enough to release the tension she was holding in her neck and shoulders. 

But finally, finally, there was home. 

This camp, she knew, was smaller, much less a permanent place to set up and more a ‘temporary regrouping point’. Fortified enough to keep grimm out, but not close enough to resources to make it worth while to stay. 

She made her way into the camp, enjoying the shocked faces of her family. 

“Where’s Raven? Has she made it home, yet?” 

Jace nodded, pointing at the only tent in the compound, and Yang strode towards it, stopping when she heard Vernal’s voice ringing clearly from inside. 

“I appreciate the chance, Raven. I won’t let you down.” 

“I know you won’t. You have more potential than Yang in this matter. You’re more collected, at the very least. Speaking of, you still haven’t found her?” 

“Not yet, but we checked some of the camps and it looks like someone had been there recently. Or, a few someones. It was probably her, with that girl we caught and her team.” 

Yang hung back, waiting for them to finish, eyes narrowing. 

“Yes, ‘Ruby’, you said her name was?” 

“Yes she called herself Yang’s sister. Said she’d travelled all the way from Vale to find her.” 

“I see.” There was a brief pause, before Raven continued, “It’s things like this that make me think my decision to make you second in command is justified. Yang should have come to the proper meeting place, and she shouldn’t have allowed the tribe to fall into chaos during the attack. She’s always been emotional and volatile, and it’s only been getting worse as she’s grown older.” 

“I’ve noticed that, too. She’s becoming… unstable. More than usual, I mean.” 

Unstable? Yang felt rooted to the spot, as the rest of the tribe pretended not to watch. If Yang was unstable, who made her that way? How could anyone hope to have any sense of stability when all they’ve known is this? A nomadic lifestyle filled with violence and anger? Vernal joined the tribe when she was older- she wasn’t born into it. In fact, over half the tribe’s population were people who joined later in life- their late teens and early twenties. 

What did that mean? Why were they joining? Yang felt like it meant something, but she felt pulled in too many directions, and instead let her body move her forward into the tent, where Raven and Vernal were sitting at the low coffee table, having tea and looking briefly startled by Yang’s appearance. 

“Yang?” 

“Mom.” 

“Where have you been? We almost gave you up for dead!” 

“Would’ve saved you some trouble.” 

The silence was thick and dangerous. 

“I’m not sure what you think you heard, but no one was hoping you were dead.” 

“Just that I’m not good enough to take over for you, right?” 

“Different people have different skills, Yang,” Raven was standing, her body language placating but Yang had seen it enough to know that Raven was preparing for a fight, “there’s nothing wrong with not being the go to for command. Vernal is more level headed than you, but you are our top fighter. Or, were, I suppose.” She stared pointedly at Yang’s arm, and Yang couldn’t help but feel ashamed.

“It broke when I was defending the tribe. Alone.”

“Alone?” 

“Everyone left, while I held off the grimm.” 

“That’s not true! We called for a retreat but you weren’t listening! You were so caught up in your semblance that you were ignoring everything that wasn’t right in front of you!” 

Was that true? Yang thought back to that night, and realized she couldn’t remember much after the attack started. The grimm burst in, then people started falling, then she got angry, and…. And what? What happened between that and her arm shattering?   
“You know it’s true, I can see it all over your face. You can’t lead people if you can’t even lead yourself, Yang.” 

Raven sized up Yang, watching her for any sudden moves, “Vernal is right. I allowed you to use your semblance as you do because it makes you a formidable opponent, but it also makes you an unreliable leader.” 

“So what do I do, then?”

“If you ever heal, I suppose you’ll go back to being our glass canon. If not, well…” Raven trailed off, arms up in a shrugging motion, “we don’t need more mouths to feed.” 

Yang stared at her in disbelief. Vernal held her gaze, and her expression wasn’t so much triumphant as it was determined. 

“Fine.” 

Yang backed out of the tent, pushing past the people who had gathered near the opening and were now trying really hard to pretend they hadn’t been eavesdropping, and grabbed some extra supplies from the crates huddled near the center. Dust, water tablets, jerky. She ignored Raven, who was watching from the door of the tent, and made her way into the woods. 

First step was to get her arm fixed. Second step was to prove to her mother that she could do the job she’d been promised since birth. 

__

The camp was two days east of the town she had gotten her X-ray in, and the city with the hospital was a week north of that. 

The idiots were probably still heading there, since that’s where the first major transit hub was, and the only way for them to get back to vale without walking across the continent to the intercontinental transit station. They had two days on her, which suited Yang just fine, because it meant they might already be gone by the time she got there. 

She made herself ignore the hollowness she felt when she thought about it. 

__

It started raining, because of course it did. 

Yang’s jacket could not cover her right arm, and instead hung off her shoulder and was secured with a buckle that took her far too long to do up. 

That also meant that the right side of her body was getting fairly wet, and the cold damp from the rain was making her arm ache. 

She had a few pain pills left, but they made her tired and sluggish and gave her weird dreams. None of which she could afford, travelling alone in the woods as injured as she was. 

Yang’s mind compulsively wandered back to her mother in the long, idle moments she had during her trip. 

‘Volatile’? Yang shook her head, to no one, to herself, to Raven. If Yang was volatile, whose fault was that? Raven claimed she ‘let’ her use her semblance like that- she had encouraged it! She wanted nothing more than to feed Yang’s fits, to make her into someone who could kill without a second thought. 

Besides, people can’t control what semblance they get- they are what they are, and going into a fugue state was a part of hers. What could she do but accept it, lean into it? If she didn’t make it work for her, her other option was to not use it, and that would be a serious and unnecessary handicap. 

She slept infrequently, and at odd times- an hour here, twenty minutes there. She couldn’t afford to stop for long, not with how deep these woods were. 

She knew if she went west, she would find a road, but habit kept her from going near it- roads meant patrols, patrols meant trouble. 

But why did patrols mean trouble? Well, that was obvious- patrols meant they would find their contraband or weapons or any of the numerous other things they had hidden at the camp. It meant trial for their crimes; murder, theft, pillaging and violence. 

Yang thought back to Ruby, how she wasn’t afraid to go into towns, to the doctors, to pass police or military personnel. She didn’t shy away from people, because she had done nothing wrong. 

And Yang knew, even from a young age, that the things her tribe did were bad, of course she knew that, but she was told they were bad because other people thought they were bad, because other people said they were bad to keep them down, to keep them from getting what they needed from the world. 

But it seemed that most people just… survived. They lived without theft, without killing. The doctor healed and the grocer sold grain, and the blacksmith fixed weapons, and as a whole, they lived their lives without causing suffering.   
So then, why exactly did her tribe do things the way they did? 

And she found herself circling back again to the fact that most of the people in the tribe were transplants. Why was that? Were these people already on the outskirts and needed a place to stay? And what caused them to be there in the first place? Had they done a crime that they needed to hide from? 

The answer was overwhelmingly yes- there was the odd person escaping a bad homelife or relationship, who had no money and joined the tribe to try and eek out a living, only to find themselves either well suited for it and surviving, or finding themselves ill suited to it and waking up with a knife in their stomach. 

One of the girls who had come to them a few years ago had ended up that way- she was soft, and weak and when Yang came back from a job, she was dead. 

She’d almost liked her, too.

Yang had been taught from a young age that strength was all that mattered. 

The strong live and the weak die. 

Yang was strong. 

She hiked her bag higher on her shoulder and pressed forward.

__

Days passed in a blur of too little sleep and too much pain. The pills sat untouched at the bottom of her bag, and when she finally made it to the city, she found the first inn that had a vacancy, slammed her lien on the counter and crawled into the bed, tossing two pills down with three cups of water and the last of the jerky. 

And she slept.

__

Yang wiped the dirt off her face, but her hand was just as dirty, and she only managed to get more on herself. She struggled to a standing position, and grimaced at the pain in her side. 

Raven was looking down at her, impassive, circling. 

“You’ve got to be stronger than this, Yang, if you ever hope to win.” 

Yang barely came to Raven’s chest, and was nearly ten. Old enough, Raven had said, to be able to hold her own in a fight without weapons. 

She still hadn’t unlocked her semblance, though her aura had been activated by Raven a few years earlier. It gave her a fighting chance against grimm, at least, and was the only thing Raven agreed to do for her, instead of making her do on her own. 

‘No good to anyone if you’re dead,’ Raven had told her.

Now, Yang’s aura was nearly depleted, and she knew if she took another hit like that, she would be injured, and there would be no sympathy if that happened. She needed to win. 

With a yell, Yang rushed forward and swung. Raven took a step back and to the side, avoiding the fist with ease, but Yang was already on the ground, sweeping her leg at her with all the strength her tiny frame could muster. Raven jumped back this time, taken by surprise. Her eyes narrowed as Yang rolled forward and into a run, intending on keeping Raven on her toes, pushing her backwards to avoid getting hit. 

“Not half bad, Yang.” Raven dodged and weaved around Yang’s fists, not a single punch doing more than grazing clothing, “but you’ve got a lot to learn, still, and not enough time to learn it.” With a single, fluid motion, Raven kicked Yang’s legs out from under her, and Yang hit the ground flat on her back, the air rushing from her lungs as her aura broke around her. 

The fight was over. 

Raven stared down at her as she gasped for breath, then sighed and walked away, back to her tent, leaving Yang to sort herself out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The week before Christmas is the busiest time at my job, so I'm Suffering. After this is one more chapter and an epilogue, which I may post at the same time. Comments are alqays appreciated 💜


	7. Chapter 7

By the time Yang woke up, it was nearing four in the afternoon of the following day, and despite the pain in her arm, she felt refreshed after her nearly twenty hour nap. 

She had packed light by necessity, and all she had was a duffel bag with some now filthy clothing and dust cartridges, but she hiked the bag over her good shoulder and trudged out of the inn, intent on finding the hospital. 

She had made it within a block or so of the building when she caught a glimpse of a familiar red cloak, and on instinct she ducked into an alley, peeking around the corner until she spotted Ruby, Weiss and Blake, sitting on a bench just far enough away that she couldn't make out their words. 

Of course the idiots were still here. 

Yang knew she could most likely cut through the alley and come up and around the parallel street, bypassing them entirely, but she stood in place, unable to tear her eyes from the trio. 

Weiss had her hand on Ruby's shoulder, who was leaning against Blake. Ruby was talking, and looked upset, and Weiss enveloped her in a hug while Blake smoothed out her hair. 

Yang felt a twinge of something in her chest- pain? Longing? The two felt so similar it was hard for her to distinguish them. 

Ruby always seemed to get what Yang never had. 

For the first time, she wasn't sure if that was Ruby's fault. 

Yang wanted to watch them, to see what they had that she was missing. 

And not the obvious things, like camaraderie or teamwork or even friendship, which was something she recalled craving when she was younger, as she watched the adults banter with each other. 

It had never really occurred to her until now that she had been the only child in the camp while she was growing up. 

Ruby stood and stretched, motioning down the street towards where Yang was hiding, and the other two followed her down the sidewalk. 

Yang ducked back into the alley, waiting a few seconds until she was sure they’d passed before following them at a safe distance, away from the hospital and into downtown. 

___

Yang had followed them for nearly two hours, and all they had done was windowshop, go to a cafe, a weapon shop and spend an inordinate amount of time in a bookstore. 

It was strange to watch, though; Weiss was the one who wanted to go into the cafe- she had pointed at it from across the street and pulled on Blake’s arm- but it was Ruby who paid for the coffee. Ruby wanted to go into the weapon shop, but she didn’t tell anyone, Blake saw it as they were passing by and they went inside. Weiss didn’t seem overly interested in the bookstore, but she and Ruby followed Blake inside and after a while, Weiss sat in the chair in the corner by the window, while Ruby occasionally showed her something interesting and Blake got lost in the shelves. 

It was courtesy. Respect. Understanding.  
But most of all, Yang’s brain snuck in like a poorly trained dog, it was love. That’s what was missing, that’s what made it hurt like it did to watch them. 

They loved each other, and it carried through in every interaction, even when they disagreed. Especially when they disagreed. Neither Weiss or Blake had wanted Yang’s company for the past three weeks, but they had put up with it for Ruby’s sake. 

When was the last time Yang did something for someone else, without it being based in fear? 

When was the last time someone did something for Yang? 

That was easy- Ruby paid for her X-rays. And her food. And the inn. And her medicine. 

But before that? Before Ruby had tripped into her life and thrown everything into disarray? 

When Qrow was still around. He would always make time for her, buy her things, play with her. 

Raven kept saying he was a coward and a traitor, but suddenly it felt wrong, like the pieces weren’t lining up and light was shining through the cracks. 

Everything felt off kilter, like the world was shifting under her feet and she sat down, hard, on the sidewalk outside the bookstore, which is where Ruby found her ten minutes later when they finally managed to drag Blake out of the store. 

___

The hospital was white and sterile and smelled of antiseptic that wasn’t liquor and the bed was less comfortable than the inn’s had been, but they had given her something for the pain and the CAT scan showed that she had a fairly large number of bone shards scattered throughout the arm, the worst ones pressing on a nerve and wedged into the muscle. 

Yang was subdued, and the staff soon found that they’d get more answers from Ruby and her team than from the patient herself. Yang only responded to questions when absolutely necessary, but agreed to the surgery, which was scheduled for the morning when the specialist got in. 

Dimly, Yang was aware that normally there were waiting lists, appointments, but she remembered that Weiss was a Schnee, and realized that she got moved up in line as a favor. 

Weiss hated her family name, and she’d used it to do something for Yang, who she also hated. 

She turned onto her side and pulled the blanket higher, ignoring Blake, who sat in the chair by the window, reading a book she’d bought while in town, while Ruby and Weiss got food from the cafeteria. 

The silence stretched on for what seemed like eternity. Until finally, Yang couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Why.” 

“Why, what?” Yang had the feeling Blake never even looked up from her book. 

“Why are you being so nice to me.” 

Blake definitely looked up at that, Yang could hear the book shift in her hands, “What do you mean?” 

“Sitting with me, buying my food, lacing my boots, bringing me to the doctors, protecting me in the woods, whatever. Why do you care?”

Blake was quiet for a moment, and Yang heard the book close and the sound of it being set on the nightstand. 

“We care because Ruby cares, and we care about her. And because you’re a person, and you’re hurt, and good people don’t like to see other people hurt.” 

“I’m a terrible person then,” Yang curled up tighter into herself, the medicine making the pain in her arm dull and her thoughts fuzzy, “when people are hurt, it’s easier to get what I want from them. Less of a fight.” 

Blake sighed softly, “You’ve done terrible things, but the good thing about being alive is you can forge a new path. Every day is a new choice.” 

“Irredeemable,” Yang was going to say more, but was cut off. 

“I told you before, didn’t I? You’re only irredeemable if you decide to be. You can’t undo the past, but you can make a new future.” Blake stood, setting a tentative hand on Yang’s shoulder, “Make a new future.” 

She dimmed the lights and left the room, the door shutting softly behind her. 

___

Yang must have fallen asleep, because when she woke it was morning and the trio were taking up the chairs on the wall under the window. 

Weiss and Blake were asleep.

Ruby was awake. 

She was reading a comic, one she must have grabbed at the bookstore, and Yang recognized it as one she sometimes got a copy of as a kid, and something felt fractured when she realized they, despite a continent and a lifetime apart, they had this in common. This one, small thing linked them. 

What else did they have in common? 

“Do you like strawberries?” 

Ruby looked up, startled, “What?” 

“Strawberries. I’ve only had them once, but they were good. Do you like them?” 

“Yeah, I love strawberries…” Ruby looked like she wanted to say something else, but she stopped herself and watched Yang curiously. 

“I like peanut butter, too.” 

“Oh, peanut butter is soooo good!” Yang could tell Ruby was trying to be quiet to keep from waking her teammates, but it was obvious she was excited about the conversation, “peanut butter and chocolate is a gods tier combo. What about ramen!” 

“I haven’t had ramen, but I do like chocolate.” 

“You’ve never had ramen! We’ll get some when you’re out of here! There’s gotta be a good place around!” Yang just nodded, suddenly feeling self conscious, but apparently once you got Ruby talking, it was impossible to get her to stop, “Oh and there’s a cool movie playing at the theater, if you wanted to check it out!” 

A movie? Qrow had taken her to see one when she was young, but that had been the only time she’d been to one. Sometimes, when they got reception, she’d watch something on a scroll, but those moments were far and few between. 

“Sure.” Yang hated how fragile she felt; like she was held together with scotch tape and any motion would snap her apart again. 

“Oh, and-” 

“Ruby,” Weiss had woken up, and was now resting a hand on Ruby’s shoulder, “I’m sure Yang is worried about the surgery. We can make plans on what to do in the city when she’s feeling better.” 

“Oh, right,” Ruby looked sheepish, and settled back into her chair, “sorry, I shouldn’t- yeah. Later.” 

Weiss smiled at her and started reading something on her phone, and Yang curled into herself again, wishing she could get a few minutes alone so she could shatter in piece, wishing they wouldn’t leave so if she broke they’d be there, hating herself for wanting that, for being weak, for not being enough. 

There was too much happening, in her head, in her heart, and everything felt like it was trying to break free, to burst a hole through her, and she knew that when it did, she wouldn’t be a person anymore, just a collection of shards and dust and fragments of someone who she wasn’t even sure should have existed in the first place. 

She never felt this way when she was home. She knew who she was, and what she was, and never had any doubts or holes or broken places. 

Yang turned over, facing the door, her back to the idiots. 

She would leave, after the surgery. She would leave, and go home, and become herself again. 

___

Waking after the surgery felt like swimming through molasses. Everything felt sluggish and a step removed, like she was thinking with a delay. 

She felt like she could sleep for a year, every ounce of her felt exhausted, and she felt like she was tied to a rock and sinking down, down into sleep, into darkness. 

She vaguely heard Ruby calling her name, but she couldn’t care. 

She was asleep within seconds.

___

She dreamt of Raven. Cold and stiff, theatrics and bravado. “Every Branwen does this, Yang. It's a right of passage.” 

Yang hadn't been herself after killing the man in the woods. Her fists stung, and her face still had a smear of blood, his blood, drying near her hairline.

“You did what I did, what your uncle and our parents did before you. You killed to defend our tribe, our family. You're an adult now.”

Had she meant to kill him? Yang couldn't recall, it was all a blur, a red colored haze that she had trouble remembering through. Had she gone there to kill him, or just scare him? 

Was this what she had meant to do? Punch him until his neck snapped? Was this who she'd meant to become?

Raven smiled down at her, and handed her a damp rag to wash her hands and face.

She looked proud- Yang could count the amount of times she'd had that look on one hand. 

She took the rag and started with her face.

___

Yang woke with a start, to find Ruby talking to the doctor, and a nurse checking her vitals and a pain in her arm that felt different, somehow, from what she’d been feeling for the past three weeks. 

“Yang, you’re awake!” 

“Am I?” She stifled a groan, “Because it feels like I’m dead.” 

“The anaesthetic has that effect on people- it’ll wear off in an hour or so.” 

“My arm…?” 

“The surgery was a success; you should have full use of it again in a day or two, but I still want you to do some exercises and I want to see you for a followup in a week.” The doctor was flexing the fingers of her hand now, asking her to squeeze, which sent a rivet of pain up her arm, “it seems it’s all in order.” 

“That hurt!” Yang’s eyes flared a brighter shade of crimson, and the doctor flinched, “Yes, well, there was pressure on the nerve for so long, it’s going to take time for it to even out, but with use and time the pain will go away. Your aura is strong, so things should heal properly now.” 

Yang continued to glare at the doctor, who backed away and nodded to the room, “I’ll make a note for your followup and check back with you later today.” 

“Thank you, doctor.” 

“Of course, any time.” The medical staff, with the exception of one nurse who was still making notes in a chart and checking machines, left the room, leaving Yang to deal with the idiots. 

“How does it feel?” 

“What do you think? It feels like I just had surgery on it.” 

“Oh...right…” 

“So we’re back to this, then?” That was Weiss, who had her hands on her hips and was staring at Yang in a healthy mix of disbelief and anger, “You just got your arm fixed, thanks in no small part to us, and you’re going to snip at her?” 

“Weiss….” 

“No, Ruby, she’s right.” Blake had been sitting, but she rose to stand next to Weiss, an impassive look on her face, “She has no right to treat you this way after everything you’ve done for her.” 

“I didn’t ask for anyone to do anything for me! I’m not a child! I don’t need help!” 

“You arrogant little-” 

“When was the last time someone was kind to you, Yang?” Ruby’s voice was quiet, but it cut through Weiss’ tirade so easily that Yang was startled into listening, “When was the last time you let someone help you?” 

“I didn't ask for help, and I don’t need it! If I’m not strong enough to stand on my own, then-” Yang’s voice hitched and cracked, and she cleared it, trying again, “If I can’t do it on my own-” was it the lingering effects of the anesthesia causing her words to get tangled up like this? Something hot trailed down her face, and she realized with a sudden, burning shame that was was crying, “then I’m not worth anything!” She buried her face in her hand, eyes closed tight against the onslaught of tears, “I’ve never been worth anything!” 

She felt weight on her left side, hair tickled her neck and she took a deep, shuddering breath as Ruby enveloped her in a hug, “Stop, don’t-” 

“Shut up, Yang, and let me hug you.” 

Yang wanted to put up a fight, to argue with her, to push her away, but she was warm and the steady pressure she was applying seemed to be reaching out to a sheltered, broken place inside of her. She found herself moving over on instinct when Ruby nudged her, and then realized she was leaning into Ruby’s shoulder, her face hidden in the cowl of her cloak while the rest of it covered them like a blanket. 

She was still crying, and her breathing was uneven and it felt like she was finally coming apart, fraying at the edges, unraveling, and she was sure there should be nothing left of her, except that Ruby was holding the pieces together, keeping her in shape as the pain filtered through the cracks her life had made in her. 

Weiss rushed towards the nurse, shooing her out of the room and closed the door behind her, while blake settled on the edge of the bed, resting against her legs with her steady, calming presence.

They stayed like that, even after Yang fell asleep. 

___

The room they rented was much nicer than the one in the town Yang had gotten her X-Ray in, but that made sense, since this city was so much larger. 

She still felt fragile, and she could tell by how they spoke to her and gave her space that they knew that. 

It had been four days since the surgery, and with every day that passed, Yang’s arm felt better and got a little stronger. 

She wished she could say the same for herself. 

After a few false starts at making conversation, Weiss and Ruby went out to get dinner and Blake and Yang sat in silence until Blake moved her chair closer to Yang and cleared her throat, asking for attention. 

“It’s not easy, what you’re going through. Making the decision to be someone different, to let go of who you are to become someone else.” 

“If you think that you can ‘fix me’ or whatever with a little speech-” 

“That’s not what I think at all. I just-” Blake’s ears twitched and swiveled, and Yang realized Blake was self-conscious, “I’ve been through something similar. Trying to do better, be better, after hurting a lot of people. After being hurt by someone who should have loved me. It’s- it’s hard, and it’s scary, and you feel a lot of shame and hurt and- it’s not like you can flip a switch and become someone worthy of kindness. You can’t just change overnight, it’s a long process, and there will be setbacks, and you’ll feel like you’re standing in place half the time, and then most of the rest of the time you’ll think you’re taking steps backwards, but then suddenly, one day, you’ll wake up and you’ll realize that you’ve changed. That, almost without noticing, you’ve become someone entirely different. And you’ll think to yourself, ‘how did I ever survive like that, how was I ever okay with that?’ and then you’ll realize that you weren’t. That for all that time, you weren’t okay, but that now, in this moment, in this time, you are. You’re okay and you feel like you can finally forgive yourself, for responding how you did when your options were survival or misery. You’ll heal one day, Yang, if you let yourself.” 

“How can you be so sure?” Yang breathed out a laugh, feeling fractured again, “You sound like you’re promising me.” 

“Well,” Blake smiled a little at her, and for the first time Yang realized she also looked broken, but in a way that implied that the cracks had long ago started to fuse, “leaving the White Fang isn’t as easy as one would think.” 

__

Ruby promised that after Yang’s follow up, she would take them all out for ramen, and Yang felt herself waver- she had promised herself she would go home, claim her birthright, prove Raven wrong, but-

She could stay here. With these girls from Vale. Soft and trusting and too kind for their own good. 

She could get ramen and see a movie and maybe get certified, travel with them, become a huntress and make an honest living. She could reconnect with Qrow, get the full story of what happened, and make a decision on how she wanted to handle her family from there. 

The checkup went well, and she was expected to make a full recovery, and when she stood at the intersection that the hospital was on, she paused, the other three stopping a few feet away to her right, the direction that would take them further into the city, back to the inn, to the restaurant. 

She looked left, and felt as if she could see the camp that lay south of here, as if she could see her mother and her tribe, her family all the way from Mistral, and with it she could see every step of her life, every decision, every choice, how every moment that followed would play out. 

She paused for a moment, allowing herself a soft sigh, before looking back at Ruby with dusky pink eyes, and took a steady step towards them.


	8. epilogue

It was a perfect, early summer day in Mistral. 

Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang had rented a two bedroom apartment in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. 

They had quickly realized that being in the middle of downtown Mistral was putting a lot of stress on, not only Blake, who was considering going back to hiding her ears from the general populous, but also Yang who had never been around so many people for such a great length of time. 

The quieter, less populated area suited the team better, and the rent was cheaper as well, so it worked out for everyone. 

What worked out especially well for Yang was being given her own room, while Ruby, Weiss and Blake shared the other. 

That one was Weiss and Blake’s idea- and Ruby knew enough about their pasts to know they were probably right in giving Yang a quiet space that she could be alone when she needed to be. 

Besides, the three girls were used to rooming together, and Ruby was certainly not going to complain about having a chance to be curled up next to Weiss without having to keep checking to make sure Yang was going to murder them in their sleep. 

But if Ruby were being honest, Yang had been doing better- or at least she’d been making an effort, anyway. There were slip-ups, and she still wasn’t the most...personable person she’d ever met, but she was trying, and that’s all that mattered. Everything else could come after. 

But sometimes, Yang seemed far away, and Ruby knew that that was normal as well- there were days Blake and Weiss seemed that way, too. Like they were trapped somewhere in their pasts and remaining grounded to the present was hard. 

And while those days were not especially common for either of them, she knew that Yang had only just started down this path that her teammates had journeyed down years ago. 

So they gave her space when she needed it, and company when she wanted it, and after almost two months, Yang had started to relax. Smile, sometimes. Laugh a little, even if it was more often at them than with them. 

Ruby had been keeping track of the days, and when the doorbell rang, she wasn’t entirely surprised by it. 

They had written to Qrow about a month ago, and it seems he had finally made his way here.

____

Yang was sitting across the table from Qrow, who was watching her as only someone with a lifetime of paranoia could. 

Yang looked uncaring and annoyed, and Ruby sighed from the kitchen as they both fell back on old, shitty habits instead of interacting like adults. 

“So. What’s up?”

Yang was quiet for a moment, her pink eyes looking down to her untouched cup of tea as she spun it around and around in her hands. 

“I wanted to hear your side of the story,” the cup stopped spinning and she looked up, meeting his gaze, “instead of just accepting what others tell me. What happened. Why did you leave?” 

Qrow continued staring at her- for long enough that Ruby was worried he was going to leave- but then he started nodding, “Alright, Yang. I’ll tell you the story.” 

___

After that day, Yang seemed calmer. As if she had made the right choice, leaving the tribe, leaving her mother. Qrow stayed in Mistral for a while, and they often got together to talk, and while sometimes Yang came back upset and angry, more often she seemed settled and more herself than the others had ever seen her. 

When she and Qrow weren’t going to lunch, and the team wasn’t training or taking on small jobs, Yang and Blake would often find themselves wandering the streets of Mistral and enjoying some quiet company. 

Blake was steady and reassuring, and while Weiss also knew what Yang was going through, they often butted heads when their tempers flared. 

With Blake, she had the space to get upset about what had happened, without Blake rising up to meet that emotion. 

And slowly, slowly, Yang started to heal. 

___

Nearly six months later, after a boat ride and a train ride and a brief stint in an airship, which she found both exhilarating and terrifying, she was on the doorstep of a little house on the island of Patch. 

She took a deep breath

And she knocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for joining me, and for taking the time to read this story until the end. I hope you enjoyed it OTL  
It took me forever to write, amd it's the longest work I've ever completed ^^;


End file.
